July 2005 Archives

July 31

Has anyone out there tried the Southern summer delicacy Buttermilk Pie? Is it good? Do you have a particular favorite recipe? I tried to make it once using this recipe, and failed, spectacularly. posted by jonson at 10:45 PM PST - 10 comments

Who is a good magician to see in NYC on a weekday, not necessariliy a big spectacular broadway style show? I'd like to see Ricky Jay, but his show isn't playing right now. And Penn and Teller defected to Vegas. posted by mecran01 at 10:03 PM PST - 4 comments

Many years ago (late eighties/early nineties), I used to play a delightful DOS-based RPG on my father's Olivetti computer. It was simply called "Castle" and involved a quest through an ASCII-rendered castle -- fighting demons and ogres, acquiring inventory, and so forth. The Olivetti went to its final rest around 1996, but this computer game was, for me, just as entertaining as anything on the market today. Is anyone out there familiar with this game? Could anyone suggest where I could find a copy? Unsurprisingly, Googling "castle" doesn't seem to get me very far, and I'm not sure where else to begin. posted by alsorises at 9:45 PM PST - 9 comments

I am in the process of building an AMD Sempron 2400+ based file storage machine. I am seeking recommendation for how big a power supply I need.
I am planning on 4 to 5 (may be 6 in future) 250GB Seagates, 2x320GB WD Sata drives, 1 DVD writer, Geforce FX 5500 video card.
The $50 case has a stock 480W PSU. I am wondering if I need more juice and possibly something by a well known brand ?
I recently built an Athlon box with Seasonic 430 PSU. Seems pretty quiet. Not sure if I should get another of those. posted by flyby22 at 9:07 PM PST - 13 comments

I have a pdf file on my official/department university web page. I would like to know how often the pdf is viewed, and as a super bonus, the domain names for who is viewing. How do I do this, without it being apparent that I am doing it? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 8:47 PM PST - 6 comments

CyrillicFilter: While parked on a side street eating my lunch in between meetings, I spotted these bumper stickers, in what I presume to be Russian. Translations, anyone? posted by baltimore at 8:09 PM PST - 8 comments

I want to keep an accurate play count of my songs in iTunes: to do this, I want the play count to reflect not only what I play on iTunes at my computer but also on my iPod. Is it possible to have the iPod update the play count on iTunes when I connect it to the computer? Is there any way to make a smart playlist of most frequently played tracks that inludes BOTH iTunes and the iPod? Or am I stuck with independent counts? [more inside]posted by thewiseacre at 7:10 PM PST - 3 comments

Owing to bad/absent ventilation design on the part of hold everything, I now have a drawer with an interior temperature pretty constantly in the 90 degree F (32 C) range.
How should I best take advantage of this? [more inside]posted by ikkyu2 at 5:28 PM PST - 17 comments

Our car was broken into today for the fourth time in about two years and the stereo was stolen for the third time. The car is getting pretty worn out overall, so we're probably going to sell it and get a newer one once we get the window replaced. What should we consider when shopping for a newer car and associated car audio, to avoid being a target? [more inside]posted by xulu at 4:51 PM PST - 19 comments

Table tennis has recently become a competitive sport in the office I work in. There are over 250 of us; word has it I am in the the top 5. This is coming down to a girls vs. boys thing (i.e. men in IT and Marketing). How do I win, or at least put on a good show? Oh, and I'm the girl. posted by vers at 4:32 PM PST - 14 comments

ShootingBlanksFilter: I'm a single male in my mid-twenties, whom after taking a long break from the opposite sex, is getting back into the game. However, reading about
fertility control issues, and also having first-hand experience with this, I've come to realize that men do not have the same reproductive control options available to them that women do.
So now I'm considering a vasectomy. [more inside]posted by id at 4:02 PM PST - 26 comments

Provence: Aix-En-Provence. Workplace permitting I'll spend a nice week to 10 days in the city and I'd like to visit anything you deem to be very nice in a 150 Km radius from the city itself. Any idea ? [more inside]posted by elpapacito at 3:13 PM PST - 5 comments

My two daughters (ages 10 and 8) take piano lessons. The old Baldwin spinet they've been practicing on has a few bad keys (they don't spring back up when pressed) already, and I was wondering whether it would be worth getting the thing repaired. If not, what would be the best value in new or used pianos for this purpose? posted by Finder at 2:18 PM PST - 10 comments

I have a friend visiting New York (from UK) in September. He wants to buy a Unicycle and take it home with him. The model he wants is a "Semcycle" with a 20 inch wheel. Is there a (real) store in NY that stocks them? I've seen the Semcycle on line store already. Thanks in advance. posted by JtJ at 1:37 PM PST - 2 comments

windsurfing - i've taken a couple lessons and am ready to take the plunge on purchasing some gear... recommendations for gear for a fairly advanced beginner? posted by specialk420 at 12:49 PM PST - 0 comments

FnordFilter: does anyone know of any MA or PhD programs in occult studies, Western esoterica, secret societies, Freemasonry, etc.? I'm looking for accredited programs, not Uncle Joe's Diploma Shack.
I've found this program in Holland. Are there any other options? posted by Netzapper at 10:42 AM PST - 8 comments

Home Buying Question: As a low-income artist, I’ve recently taken the plunge and qualified for a zero-down, stated income loan, and have found a great place to buy. But now there’s a complication with parental involvement which I have no idea how to deal with. It’s not what you might think... [more inside]posted by Aquaman at 9:26 AM PST - 16 comments

I'm planning on creating a web-based program allowing employees of the auditorium where I work to sign up for shifts online. What programming language and database system should I use? [more inside]posted by joshuaconner at 3:42 AM PST - 14 comments

Can anyone tell me what factors affect the valuation of the dollar? I'm looking to understand both how the dollar is related to other currency, as well as what makes the dollar stronger or weaker at home - i.e. GDP, interest rates, durable goods ... posted by horsemuth at 3:02 AM PST - 3 comments

On CSI, I always see them using these super-long cotton swabs to stick up a dead person's nose - what are these called, and where can I buy them, preferably on-line? They look exactly like regular Q-tips, except 3x larger. [more inside]posted by invisible ink at 1:19 AM PST - 7 comments

I feel like my skull is going to rupture if I don't do something, so I've decided to try to create a 'zine. You know, the Kinko's-made, double-stapled things that have almost died since our beloved internet. Any advice? [more inside]posted by 235w103 at 12:48 AM PST - 17 comments

We're going out to BC for a wedding next weekend and have added a night in Vancouver and a night in Victoria before heading to the site of the festivities. Where should we eat on a Tuesday night in Vancouver and a Wednesday night in Victoria? [more inside]posted by mikel at 9:46 PM PST - 22 comments

What's the name of the British horror/suspense movie made around 1948 that consists of four separate stories, the last one of which is about a ventriloquist whose dummy starts talking to him? [more inside]posted by warbaby at 5:37 PM PST - 10 comments

A friend of mine is trying to identify a short story that she read in high school where conversation and sex have the opposite roles than they do in our society today. [more inside]posted by Turd Ferguson at 8:42 AM PST - 7 comments

Has anyone successfully managed to repair a sticky out wire coming out from an underwired bra? I've thrown out many (otherwise good) bras because the wire works it's way through and ripping me to shreds even when I try to sew it up 'darned socks style' with thread! Are there any MeFi domestic goddesses that have tamed this instrument of torture? [more inside]posted by floanna at 6:25 AM PST - 13 comments

July 29

Jitensha-Filter: I fantasize about moving to Japan to teach English, when I retire from my computer career. To achieve this end, I've earned my TESL certificate, but so far, I'm just a repeat tourist with lots of Nihon travel experience -- but always on foot. Part of the fantasy involves riding a bicycle over there -- and not one of their clunky no-speeds, but my bicycle. What's involved when a gaijin brings in his bicycle? I'm guessing it's not as easy as retrieving it from checked luggage at Narita, and riding away -- knowing the Japanese, there's regulations to be satisified, in an approved manner. [more inside]posted by Rash at 10:19 PM PST - 15 comments

CapitalgainsFilter: I bought a new house and my old house is set to go on the market on Monday. I'm just two months shy of the 2 years minimum residence requirement for avoiding capital gains taxes, and will make sure the old house isn't sold before that cut-off date. But do I really have to sleep in the old house all the way up to the end date? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 9:12 PM PST - 7 comments

How to dispose unwanted medicine (pills), and used syringes with needles (used for insulin shots) without harming the environment or anyone who may find it. posted by semmi at 7:50 PM PST - 10 comments

In America (and in Europe, too, I suppose), we use the Linnaean taxonomic system for living things and have certain specific terms (acetate, polymerase, cholinergic, etc.) that are used in chemistry, for example; how does such terminology work in other languages, especially those very dissimilar to English, such as Chinese? posted by clockzero at 3:10 PM PST - 6 comments

I just moved into a new house and am noticing my long hair is falling out much more quickly than before. We've checked on water quality (it's soft and no different than our previous home - just 2 miles away). What might be the reasons for this? [more inside]posted by jojopizza at 2:59 PM PST - 12 comments

I cant get my yahoo music engine to work. The same internet explorer script error comes up every time I open it. I uninstalled it and reloaded it already and am all out of ideas. Here is what the error looks like. posted by pwally at 2:15 PM PST - 2 comments

ÜbergroupFilter: Coworkers and I were discussing, what make a classic "all-time greatest band in the world" band, ones that were equally musically adept, great songwriting, and inspirational. All the examples we could think of were british; The Stones, The Beatles, Cream etc...
What American bands would meet the above criteria? [more inside]posted by ShawnString at 2:12 PM PST - 109 comments

Suppose I have an idea for a potentially interesting art/music/programming project. I can envision what needs to happen and can put it into concrete terms but lack the programmatic and music theory chops (I'm a designer & photographer type person) to realize it on my own. Where can I find like minded folks that might be interested in collaborating on this art for art's sake project? [more inside]posted by aladfar at 1:38 PM PST - 6 comments

K. My google skills are weak. I am opening an art gallery at the intersection of Gore and Powell street in Vancouver, B.C. I want to name the gallery the GPS coordinates. Can I find this on the internet, Google maps or something? I should add the deadline for declaring this is 5pm today, so time is tight. posted by cascando at 1:07 PM PST - 19 comments

Looking for recommendations for home computer tech support in Toronto, Canada. Nerds on Site seems pretty good, anyone want to give a recommendation for a buddy or company that does great work? posted by will at 12:34 PM PST - 1 comment

I need a good, cheap (free) ASP shopping cart application for Windows 2003 / IIS for a client website. Normally, I would use osCommerce, but for some reason they want everything ASP, etc. Any suggestions? Your help is fantastically appreciated. [more inside]posted by letterneversent at 12:00 PM PST - 6 comments

I used ClamXav for Mac OS X to locate any viruses and had the infected MS Word docs (quite a few) isolated. Now I need a free download to clear the viruses and repair these documents. Know of any and where I can find them? For the future, are there any free downloads that do both the finding and repairing? posted by auntbee at 10:33 AM PST - 0 comments

I bought a package of frozen eggplant parm at Trader Joe's, and the cooking instructions are to place the package (made of cardboard) directly into the oven... [more inside]posted by amro at 9:49 AM PST - 23 comments

I watched The Longest Day last night and had a few dumb D-Day questions afterward: 1) Why wasn't German U-Boat activity in the North Atlantic considered a major impedance to the invasion, 2) Why didn't German radars pick up the tremendous column of men & machines heading toward France, 3) Why wasn't more air cover sent in far ahead of the armada to take out the huge gun emplacements on the beach first, and 4) in order to risk less casualties once they hit the beaches, why didn't the Allies roll out tanks & armored vehicles first instead of releasing waves of vulnerable human targets from their LCVs, many of whom were killed immediately? posted by dhoyt at 6:36 AM PST - 32 comments

LinguaFilter: A phoneme comprised of two vowels, like the “ou” in “house” is called a dipthong. Is there a specific term for a phoneme made of two consonants, like the “sh” in “rash?” posted by ijoshua at 6:36 AM PST - 23 comments

Experienced homeowners, help out a first-time buyer. What wisdom can you impart about the home buying process? What do you wish you had done differently when buying your first home? posted by Otis at 5:53 AM PST - 36 comments

Every year this incredibly strange woman wanders up to my front door to solicit money for something she cryptically refers to as "the peace olympiad." Whenever I attempt to find out what this is and why I should give it money she simply explains that it's like the Olympics only it strives to promote peace and unity. I then ask what this means. And she repeats her original answer. I confess that I really have no idea what this group is or does and I don't feel comfortable giving it money. She then abruptly turns and walks to the next house.
My question: What the meep is the "peace olympiad"? I have found that it's run by some organization called EduServe...but I can't seem to find out much more than that. What exactly is this group? Is it some sort of cult or scam or is it some legitimate charity that just happens to have a very strange representative in my area? Has anyone else encountered solicitors for the peace olympiad? Is this an actual event? Are the peace olympiad competitors? posted by jaanpehechaanho at 12:13 AM PST - 11 comments

The boyfriend's parents are moving to South Carolina this weekend. We live in Philadelphia. They live(d) in New Jersey. We're both college age and have been out of "their" house for a year. He is completely distraught over this and I don't know what to do. Has anyone had to deal with parents moving away? What helped? What didn't help?posted by tozturk at 12:09 AM PST - 7 comments

I'm probably going to be taking a new job in the next couple of months. I'm currently at my first "real" job, so i have some questions for those of you who have done this before. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:00 AM PST - 7 comments

having made the switch to a mac mini, 1gb ram, 80gb hdd, wireless options and running tiger, i bought a labtec usb optical mouse to go with my machine. after a while i found that it does it's own thing, and will occasionally lurch over to he left side of the screen for no apparent reason. [more inside]posted by spyke23 at 6:10 PM PST - 15 comments

As a naive Aussie, I've always assumed that there was a (emphasis on 'a') magical place called Disneyland somewhere in the US. Now I find there's something called "Disneyland", and something else called "Walt Disney World", and they both seem to have multiple subparks. What's the difference between the two? Which would my 10- and 12-year old nieces enjoy more? Generic Disney trip tips / pointers to a guide online welcome. posted by obiwanwasabi at 5:43 PM PST - 33 comments

The top of this little sign says, "This compressed message [from the NAIC-Arecibo Observatory] is a mathematical puzzle for an intelligent species to solve. The answer will reveal information about the Earth and its people." I got nothin'. Help? posted by gleuschk at 3:44 PM PST - 17 comments

LegalFilter. Back in Feb I had a 10-mile-over ticket in Austin TX. I plead guilty at a court cashier cage, paid the fines, and applied for a defensive driving deferral, but was in the midst of the move and could not do the class. I figured the violation would just get put on my record. Now I'm getting letters from Austin threatening me with a warrant if I don't appear in front of a judge on Sept 8. [more inside]posted by shannymara at 3:15 PM PST - 7 comments

Looking for a nice hotel in nyc for <=$200 a night. I usually stay with friends, but they're all out of town, and I'm hoping someone can recommend a nice place for me and my special lady to stay in Manhattan. We're on our way somewhere else, so it's just for one night. I'm thinking lower Manhattan but flexible. Also, is it best to make reservations directly with the hotel or is orbitz etc a good strategy for finding a room? posted by puppy kuddles at 3:10 PM PST - 18 comments

Does anyone know of a fairly fast algorithm for generating a "hash" of images which behaves like soundex, in that similar images have similar values? I know that's not possible in general, but I'm particularly interested in text - so what I really want is something that says "boo" is more like "bon" than "box" (in the character set I am using to type this, at least). You can assume no background noise, good orientation etc. [more inside]posted by andrew cooke at 2:52 PM PST - 17 comments

I use Windows XP and am looking for a macro recorder to enable me to assign fixed strings to hotkeys. This should work for applications such as Exceed, Putty etc. It's for use at work so it needs to be a freebie. Can anyone recommend one? posted by PurpleJack at 1:02 PM PST - 3 comments

I'm an American who lives in London, just got 1500US that I need to convert to pounds. Where should one go to get the most return for they're US money in London? Don't need a specific street corner or anything, but hoping for ideas how to get the most for my money. posted by herting at 12:28 PM PST - 13 comments

Firefox deal-breakers. 1. Instead of scrolling the page, panning use the trackpad on OS X goes back one page in the cache. 2. I want to change the keybinding to so that control-click on a link opens in a new background tab, instead of in a new foreground tab. [more inside]posted by Mo Nickels at 12:16 PM PST - 15 comments

There have been numerous questions about I like X music and want to find more like it.
What I want to know, besides the basics like All Music Guide, Pitchfork, etc... where do you go for recommendations for music? posted by szg8 at 11:48 AM PST - 18 comments

I am having a problem with Outlook 2003. If I click on a hyperlink in an email message, a new internet explorer window is created instead of using the currently open internet explorer window. How can I change this? [more inside]posted by garypratt at 11:15 AM PST - 8 comments

I have to send a manuscript in the be edited and they've asked me to mark all italicized words with an underline and all bolded words with a wavy underline. I've never sent in an ms before so I am unsure how to go about doing this. Is it possible to format a document like this in MS Word? If not, is there another program I should be using? [more inside]posted by ducksauce at 9:31 AM PST - 13 comments

A friend of mine is trying to learn English (he is a Spanish speaker), and knows very little English. He lives in a Central American country, and I am going to send him a good book and some CDs for learning - they dont have English textbooks in his school. Can anyone suggest a good series on learning English for Spanish speakers? Is there a audio series that is really solid? Or books that are good? My Spanish is okay, but not enough to be making those kind of judgements. posted by jare2003 at 8:57 AM PST - 3 comments

I have a laptop with a vga out - is there an external box or some sort of device that would allow me to have a spanning multi mode with two external monitors, in addition to the laptop? [more inside]posted by The Jesse Helms at 8:45 AM PST - 7 comments

Canadian proof of parenthood - does such a thing exist? A bit of an obscure question I know, but I require some official, government-provided proof that my parents are, in fact, my parents. [more inside]posted by loquax at 6:33 AM PST - 14 comments

Here's a physics/exercise question. If you walk over a closed course that varies in altitude over the course, is the energy expended the same going one way as the other? [more inside]posted by jpburns at 4:30 AM PST - 18 comments

Re: urban legends/mobile phones.
Yesterday there was a rumour circulating in London (I heard it from several different sources). The story was that if you were to call the generic European Union emergency number (not 999) from your mobile phone from a Tube, it would work even in underground tunnels. Is there any truth in this or is this just an urban legend post-7/7? posted by plep at 3:40 AM PST - 7 comments

What font does USA Today use for their headlines? For example, "New year, new challenges" in this image: http://www.2001exhibit.org/press/img/usa_today.gif
For that matter, what's their logo font? posted by Zair TL at 7:18 PM PST - 5 comments

My wife wants to be able to put Spanish Accents in on our PC Laptop however we have not found a solution. Is there one for a PC Laptop Keyboard without using that Function method? posted by Hands of Manos at 5:43 PM PST - 4 comments

What's the best program to use for capturing video from the desktop? Say, if I wanted to provide a visual tutorial in Photoshop that I could save as a video. posted by jimmy at 4:59 PM PST - 9 comments

Wish I had his problem! Our lanky cat, who is two years old and in all respects healthy otherwise, is very skinny. How do we fatten him up? And should we? [more inside]posted by cacahuete at 3:57 PM PST - 14 comments

I am uber-tarded computer-wise and I need to know if it's possible to export my favorites off my msn page. They are vast and I cannot loose them, I am moving to another state and will not be using msn again. Therefore, I will no longer have access to them. Any ideas, any help? posted by codeofconduct at 1:27 PM PST - 5 comments

I'm moving to LA soon and have two questions.
First, I have a rental budget of around $1200 to $1500 a month for a one-bedroom (not a studio!). I want to live close enough to enjoy all that LA has to offer but not so close that I have to pay way more for a lot less. Any ideas on areas of town, specific rental agencies, websites, complexes, etc.
Second, is living out there really all that much more expensive than saying living in Houston, Texas for example? Can anyone offer specifics on what costs so much. posted by JPowers at 1:19 PM PST - 27 comments

I recently seeded a new lawn, about 50x150 feet, in buffalo grass seed. the entire thing is now sprouting in bindweed. is there anything I can do to get rid of bindweed without killing the seedlings? I have been hand pulling them, but it takes approximately 20 hours each weekend. I'm open to any suggestions.
thanks! posted by pamohearn at 1:09 PM PST - 4 comments

I am a PC person, but I was given an old Power Mac G4. I am setting it up for my son. The hard drive holds about 9.5 Gigs, and will be filled up by his iTunes collection rather fast. Can I (i.e. should I) (a) swap out the hard drive for a bigger one, (b) add a second internal drive, (c) use an external hard drive, or (d) other? Please help this Mac novice navigate the mental migration from the PC world. Thanks. posted by Carsey at 12:24 PM PST - 12 comments

I'm playing (oracle) DBA for a day over the next two weeks and need to create public synonyms for all tables in a schema. How would I go about doing so? [more inside]posted by furtive at 8:58 AM PST - 7 comments

Please Help Me. I need a blog. I am so busy and scattered, though. I post stuff all over the place, and I try to connect with folks with snippets. I think a blog would work for me, even in it got few hits. But since I am so busy, I don't have much time to learn detailed shortcuts, software, etc. I would like to find a place on the web where it is easy to post stuff in a cool layout, including of course links, pix, etc. Maybe with sidebars, contact info, etc. It would also be nice if it were within a community of bloggers. And maybe "Blog" is the wrong term, as it might be simply a personal web page. But a blog seems more interactive, and I want that. My interests are eclectic, but they include radical social, and personal, change. Will you please help me with ideas? Thanks! [more inside]posted by swlabr at 7:16 AM PST - 17 comments

I recently adopted two kittens from a friend who took in a stray litter. They were stray for approximately 4-5 weeks and one of them is extremely skittish around humans. He is young and I expect him to come around, but do you have any tips for helping him learn to trust me? [more inside]posted by mike9322 at 5:29 AM PST - 17 comments

I just started working at a company where health insurance kicks in after 90 days, you pay half for a year, and then the company picks up the full cost. Is this normal? [more inside]posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:49 AM PST - 21 comments

Does some database have the wrong idea about me?
I live with 4 otherwise nice and "normal" guys who all drink a fair amount of beer, and I am the designated beer go getter. I almost always use my ATM/debit or credit card and grocery membership card. [more inside]posted by tcy at 10:14 PM PST - 15 comments

I'm told I'm a shoo-in for an ESL job in South Korea. When I graduate with a BA in English next May, I could move down to South Korea and teach English for a year. Known pros are the mobile tech, friendly people, and first chance to see a radically different culture. The pay's supposed to be good ($3k a month) and the program sets my housing up. So what could the cons be? And am I missing any pros? I'd especially appreciate advice from former SK residents. posted by NickDouglas at 9:39 PM PST - 14 comments

Our air conditioner is going out and has to be replaced. We are likely going to replace it with two standard units as the single unit has never heated or cooled the entire house evenly. The heating/air guy said that would be ideal but would cost 8-10 thousand vs 4 thousand or less if we just bought a new 5 ton unit. However the electric company is offering to loan people the money if they want to buy heat pumps. Not having a lot of extra money right now, that is tempting IF heat pumps are likely to do the job, which I am not sure about. [more inside]posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 8:59 PM PST - 10 comments

In a blue thread in December 2004, there was a link to video of a bunch of base jumpers from Norway. I've been trying to find a CD of the music that's played as the soundtrack to that video for the past 10 months with no luck. [more inside]posted by freshgroundpepper at 7:23 PM PST - 4 comments

NewYorkVirginFilter: I'm going to New York on business in early August, and I'll have two blocks of time free: 4pm - midnight-ish, and 8am - 2pm the following morning. I am so clueless. [more inside]posted by craniac at 4:26 PM PST - 26 comments

I am going to graduate school in the fall (for what should be about a five year stint) and am wondering what / if I should do about getting a recommendation from my current boss. [more inside]posted by The Bishop of Turkey at 4:05 PM PST - 6 comments

T-shirts. I'm in a small town and the only place with T-shirts is Wal-Mart (which has only Budweiser & NASCAR shirts by Faded Glory). So where can I buy a bunch of cool (even geeky) T-shirts online but without paying $15 a pop? [more inside]posted by rolypolyman at 3:10 PM PST - 12 comments

Okay.. this (believe it or not) is the question that caused me to pay the $5 and join mefi...
Does anyone remember the Commodore PET? Our high school (back in 1983'ish) had 3 of these things and the best thing about them was this gold mining game. You'd move your little ascii (actually, PETSCII I think) guy around and you'd run into a solid block to mine it for gold. You might find gold.. or nothing.. or even a spring that would flood the whole cave.
Does anyone remember this game? Did someone ever re-do it for Palm or PocketPC? I'd even settle for finding it on a PET emulator if such a thing existed. posted by spifl at 2:55 PM PST - 8 comments

Does anyone have any personal experience with buying and then having to make a claim against the insurance you can get when shipping through the major carriers, i.e. USPS, UPS. FedEx, DHL? Are any of them better than the others when it comes to making a successful claim? Or is buying it just like pissing money away because they make it so difficult to get paid if something does happen? Any tips, tricks from the community? posted by crosten at 2:02 PM PST - 11 comments

Our dog stays at home while we're out working. She does fine and has people walking her on most days, but with the generally unreliable nature of electric power on hot Virginia days, I worry that the house may lose power and heat up to an uncomfortable temperature while my wife and I are at work.
Does anyone have any experience with an inexpensive, easy-to-setup way for me to get an e-mail alert if the power goes out or the temperature gets to a certain point? This looks neat, but if the house loses power it won't do me much good. posted by laze at 12:36 PM PST - 17 comments

My fiancé is having very rare hip surgery soon. Very few surgeons in the area perform it - she's found the one she wants - only problem is her insurance doesn't recognize him. What are some steps she can take to to help convince her insurance to give this guy the green light? [more inside]posted by hellbient at 12:31 PM PST - 10 comments

anyone recommend a good -- and affordable -- place to develop photos in new york city? I have a few rolls of t100-max black and white film, which I would also need a good deal on, and I don't want to go to the numerous fried-chicken-cum-photo-developing outfits splashed all over the city. posted by yonation at 11:17 AM PST - 8 comments

What book do I want? In the interest of self-improvement, I have decided to study linguistics and I am trying to find a book that would provide a good overview of the subject. I would like something a bit more enjoyable/readable than a typical textbook, but I would also like to get a fairly broad structural overview including references to other sources. I know so little about the science that I am unsure if "linguistics" is too broad of a term; if it is any help I was a huge fan of the Wittgensteinian school of philosophy back in my college days. posted by rtimmel at 10:43 AM PST - 16 comments

A house with 7 rooms of varying quality is being split between 7 college students. The rent is a fixed amount. The students place differeng importance on the value of their money vs. the size of the rooms they will get. What is the best method of allocating the rooms so that everyone is optimally happy? [more inside]posted by shivohum at 10:18 AM PST - 39 comments

They can put a man on the moon, but they can’t make an indestructible plush dog toy? My dog loves the stuffed animals, but is extremely rough on them. Even the best ones are unstuffed or decapitated within a couple of weeks. Any leads on durable furries? posted by found missing at 10:05 AM PST - 18 comments

A friend of mine has a question about how (and how much) people in so-called third world and developing countries get paid when their images are used in American ad campaigns. [more inside]posted by blueberry at 9:49 AM PST - 6 comments

I'm a 23-year-old guy who's never used a real razor to shave -- I've only ever used electrics. (Why? Because I'm a pussy and can't bear to think about cutting myself.) I've recently started to think that the electric shave is less than ideal, and that proper shaving would be a good life skill to have. Of course, it'd be a little awkward to ask Dad to show me how like everybody else, since I'm not thirteen and he's in another state. How can I teach myself to use a razor without causing myself grievous injury? What kind of razor gives me the smallest chance of cutting myself? Am I ridiculous for even asking about this? posted by logovisual at 9:16 AM PST - 38 comments

Can you recognize this scene: two soldiers, which I remember as the last two men alive, are shown killing each other, with guns from a distance I think. It is from an *animated* film, probably meant for children, that I watched possibly 10 years or so ago, but I don't really remember--I just have this vague recollection. I think they were wearing gas masks and there was possibly a voiceover, but again, I'm not sure about anything. I am guessing that it must have been a movie about animals or something, or in any case about something non-human, where this scene was used in a kind of "oh, the naughty past" way. Any suggestions of what movie this might be from would be greatly appreciated! posted by flavor at 8:04 AM PST - 6 comments

Yesterday, I foolishly shaved my entire nether region.
While it looked lovely immediately afterwards it is now an itchy, rash-ridden, horror show. I need some suggestions on how to make the itching stop and the bumps go away fast! posted by dagnyduquette at 8:00 AM PST - 13 comments

Recommendations for a good, reliable Linux Virtual Server host? Any good experiences? Any really bad ones? things to look out for? Root access and ability to install custom software is a must as is serving multiple domains. Price is definitely a factor, but reliability is more important. [more inside]posted by costas at 7:13 AM PST - 9 comments

I need to get some clothing staples for a young woman. She needs basic underwear, socks, t-shirts; you know, the standards. Anyone know of a good place to go? Target, Wal-mart, etc. all seem to not sell this sort of thing online. posted by k8t at 6:40 AM PST - 8 comments

I am running in a graphics environment (pagemaker) and would like to extract the information to a database. Does anyone know of a program that can export this to a format that excel or access can use. posted by aisleofview at 5:12 AM PST - 3 comments

I live in Japan, and I speak the language only at a pretty minimal level. Occasionally when out in public I'll overhear someone's conversation, and I could swear they're speaking English, but then I'll realize they're actually speaking Japanese. The two languages sound nothing alike, so this is obviously something going on in my head. So linguaphiles, my question is: is there a name for this mishearing of a language? posted by zardoz at 3:51 AM PST - 11 comments

We build web-based software. A friend who owns an established company is offering a portion of her company's shares in return for our involvement in leading her business' venture into e-commerce, knowing well that it has to be a long-term commitment.
What are the benefits of being a shareholder in a company? What should I look out for, and what should I expect in return? Do I draw a monthly director's fee? What are my liabilities? How do I determine the company's share values? posted by arrowhead at 2:58 AM PST - 10 comments

I do websites. I'm looking for a PHP/Javascript script that superimposes a link or image to webpages that are below a certain directory on the server. Any geeks with ideas? posted by wibbler at 1:14 AM PST - 5 comments

I'm a single guy, 30 years old .. finding out that I'm spending too much time cleaning my house .. and I suck at it ;) I really think time spent cleaning would be better spent on work and a side business I have .. Wondering if you all had opinions on a cleaning service like Molly Maid. [more inside]posted by jason9009 at 10:34 PM PST - 11 comments

Ant Problem, is there anything else I can do? a few days ago I found a few ants in my kitchen so I set up a few an traps hoping I could catch the few that where there, the next morning I woke up and found many many ants swarming an area of my kitchen and storage room. [more inside]posted by bluehermit at 9:26 PM PST - 7 comments

My small business is considering starting a partnership / joint venture with a smaller scale operation based in Asia (we are in the US). They have good connections, we have a good organization to do the work. Can anyone recommend a website or book that offers good advice to those considering partnerships / joint ventures? posted by extrabox at 9:06 PM PST - 3 comments

I want to buy my son, who is turning six, a telescope for his birthday. I don't want to spend a fortune, but one site I looked at for advice said anything less than $300 is a piece of junk. Anyone have any advice (including specific models) on one I can by this budding astronomer for $100 or less? posted by alexg23 at 8:36 PM PST - 22 comments

I am moving from the West Coast to the East Coast and I'm wondering what the best way to move my beloved cat. I was originally going to bring her on my flight as a carry-on, but I'm thinking that the plane ride may be too long in a small pet carrier. There is also the option of checking her in as luggage, but most airlines don't allow this in the summer months (i.e. the time I'm moving). Any suggestions? Shipping is also an option; any suggestions on airline-friendly kennels that can attach water and food? Also, to sedate or not to sedate? posted by Dante5Inferno at 8:13 PM PST - 15 comments

I've finally noticed and started enjoying the digital music channels that came with my DirecTV setup. But it's kind of silly to use my home theater system and DirecTV receiver just to hear some music. Does anyone know how I could hack this kind of satellite music playback into a separate stereo system? Anyone ever heard of a digital music receiver for DirecTV? posted by mathowie at 5:52 PM PST - 8 comments

The sites that I frequent have been abuzz with the news that Konfabulator has been purchased by Yahoo. Having since downloaded Konfabulator, I must ask: What's the big deal? [more inside]posted by Jairus at 5:34 PM PST - 12 comments

When I was in elementary school (mid-late 70's) there used to be a Christian tv drama that I would watch on Sundays when nothing else was on. I remember the production values as being fairly poor, and it was usually somewhat depressing, with characters yelling at each other and a moral at the end that no one could miss. Elizabeth Taylor was on one episode. Was it made by the Lutherans? Google hasn't helped me. posted by pinky at 3:37 PM PST - 4 comments

I'd like to buy a new watch, a rugged military sort of thing. Problem is, every company says theirs is the one the actual military uses, and they all seem to boast the same qualities. Does anyone know a good, authentic high-quality pilot's or such watch that's not outrageously expensive? posted by dearleader at 2:49 PM PST - 14 comments

I havent seen my girlfriend in months, cause ive been traveling abroad. Im in graduate school and happen to crashing at my parents home for two weeks, which is where she is. Shell be in town for a weekend, and we really can´t have sex at my parents house, but we want to still have somewhere to be intimate. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 2:32 PM PST - 20 comments

I've been dating a wonderful guy for a month or so and have slowly come to the realization that while he has had relationships with women in the past, his social circle definitely views him as gay. I know each situation is unique, and I'm just going to have to keep the lines of communication open and see where this goes, but I'd like to hear what people's experience has been in other situations like this. posted by anonymous at 2:32 PM PST - 18 comments

I'm looking into buying Battlefield 2, for the multiplayer experience. Can anyone comment on the ability to accomodate the casual gamer? I've always been turned off by multiplayer games as it seems only a select few who play all day control the flow of the game. Is it easy to just pick up a quick game here and there? [more inside]posted by geoff. at 12:58 PM PST - 6 comments

Help me sort fact from fiction: do police officers in the US have a monthly quota or target (official or unofficial) for the number of tickets they need to issue? posted by netsirk at 12:14 PM PST - 17 comments

A friend of mine is starting a catering business focusing on sweets. She has decided that her theme for her menus, business cards, etc will be an in-motion bee. She would like to continue this theme to her desserts as kind of a signature. Any ideas where to find bulk quantities of a tastefully rendered bee that would look appropriate attached to, or set along side, a dessert. I'm picturing something the size of a quarter or half-dollar. Thanks in advance! posted by jbradley at 9:48 AM PST - 14 comments

Home Security: The doors currently on my house would be laughably easy to break through. I'm planning to replace them with solid wood doors with metal strips reinforcing the jamb, and serious deadbolts (with long screws securing them.) Is there anything I'm missing (so far as securing doors go)? [more inside]posted by Zed_Lopez at 9:39 AM PST - 10 comments

When I try to log into hotmail, I get this error: "The operation timed out when attempting to contact..." This has been going on for a week. Yet my husband can get into his hotmail account just fine. I've tried logging in using Firefox and IE, but I get the error in both browsers. I've tried on my desktop and my laptop. Neither works. My husband can get into his hotmail using any browser and any PC. What gives? Does hotmail have a vendetta against me? posted by Evangeline at 9:25 AM PST - 11 comments

I've been trying to find the official website of Sergei Lukyanenko, the author of Nightwatch or Nochnoj dozor, an epic trilogy about a battle between the forces of good and evil. The interesting thing here is that a. this is being compared to LOTR or the Matrix, b. its Russian, c. it was a huge hit in Russia. The film's reviews seem intriguing... However I'm trying to find the book which is apparently available for download on his official website. [more inside]posted by zia at 8:38 AM PST - 8 comments

I have a three-year-old Swiss Army officers watch that I took to a (trusted) jeweler last week to have the battery replaced. The next day condensation appeared inside the glass and now the thing has gone kaput. It had been working fine up until the battery died (and for a few hours after it was replaced). Do you think the jeweler is liable...or am I out of luck? Any advice before I return to the jeweler to complain? posted by punkfloyd at 8:17 AM PST - 9 comments

Somewhere underneath the sweaty cracked calluses and ragged toenails are cute, soft, dry feet. My eyes are also about to crack from the countless products and incredible secret formulas available on Google. What can I do to get foot-model feet without breaking the bank? I'm a bit wary of just smearing random condiments on my feet (mayonaise, vinegar, etc) and hoping for the best. Any home or all-natural treatments worked for anyone? My SO thanks you in advance for your advice. posted by pants at 8:11 AM PST - 27 comments

I'm reading Princesses, by Flora Fraser (which, OT, is a bit too much like school to be really enjoyable) and am interested in a term I don't understand. [more inside]posted by SashaPT at 7:33 AM PST - 5 comments

Over the years, my wife and I have managed to accumulate many bottles of different kinds of alcohol. For the most part, though, we don't drink it, and it's just taking up space. So we're looking for culinary ways to use it. What good recipes do folks have that use stuff like rum, vodka, schnaps, etc.? Wine and beer recipes are welcome, too, although we're mostly trying to get rid of harder stuff. Anything from sauces to marinades to whatever would be great. posted by abingham at 7:01 AM PST - 18 comments

I have a Winamp playlist containing hand-picked individual MP3 files from within a 12Gig directory structure. Is there an easy way to give this to Nero so I can burn my playlist ? Any other way to burn just the contents of the playlist, for free of course ? posted by superfurry at 4:07 AM PST - 6 comments

In common speech, how do people in spanish speaking/ latin-american countries differentiate between an indigenous person (~indio) and a person from India? Is there a separate word for someone from India? posted by dhruva at 1:40 AM PST - 9 comments

Is there an easy way to convert a text list of songs (in "Artist - Song" format) into a working playlist? What I'm trying to do is take the Audioscrobbler Top Tracks list, and load it into Winamp. [more inside]posted by monsterhero at 11:09 PM PST - 8 comments

Is there a doctor in the house?
Does the human body contain one gluteus maximus muscle (spanning both buttocks) or two (one at the top of each leg)? [more inside]posted by Shadowkeeper at 10:33 PM PST - 9 comments

I have a garden bed underneath a deciduous tree (a nectarine it so happens). At the moment it looks great, there are jonquils, freesias and all sorts of other winter and spring flowering bulbs coming up all over (this is southern hemisphere). From about November through until May however, it's basically barren. Is there such a thing as a shade loving, low water use ground cover that small bulbs could successfully grow through? [more inside]posted by wilful at 9:58 PM PST - 2 comments

I'm over 30 and probably know as much or less about history, politics/ gov, and current events as my 7 year old niece. Now, I want to be aware and don't know where to begin. I've tried just "merging in" but the references, terms, and names are lost on me. I need a starting point that will give me a framework or bird's eye view to start from and build on. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 7:13 PM PST - 27 comments

If you would have to choose a quote, verse, lyric, poem or other textual message to have tattooed on your body, what would it be? In what way is that text significant to you? Which body part would you put it on? Which representation system would you use? posted by koenie at 3:59 PM PST - 61 comments

Cities and Urban Studies: I'm looking for well-researched books which provide insight into the ever-evolving project of the city and its function(s). Aside from the few classics I'm familiar with--Jane Jacobs' and Ken Jackson's books--can you recommend any exemplary texts? I'm particularly interested in studies of the (post)modern city: issues of future planning, class & diversity, municipal economies, and the role of private vs. public resources. posted by pinto at 2:52 PM PST - 18 comments

Can you recommend a camera phone? I want something small, comfortable to talk on, that takes good pictures (for a camera phone), and has email access for sending photos off to flickr. [more inside]posted by medpt at 12:46 PM PST - 18 comments

Someone I know is getting multiple phone calls per day to their cell phone from an unlisted "Private Number" (so says the cell screen). The caller hangs up after about 10 seconds without saying anything. Nothing can be heard in the background, except possibly a rustling sound. Because of the nonresponse, it is unclear whether a human is making the call or if it is somehow automated. [more inside]posted by _sirmissalot_ at 11:58 AM PST - 20 comments

How do I right align a line break in HTML? I can right align a paragraph, but I don't want the double space in between my lines. Can I create a paragraph that doesn't double space? I want to be able to quote someone on my site, then list the source directly under the quote, aligned right, without the double space. posted by jruckman at 10:47 AM PST - 11 comments

My DVD-ReWritable drive and my regular ol' CD-Rom drive are all of a sudden not working anymore. They worked fine last night, but now the computer doesn't even see them to list them. [more inside]posted by NoMich at 10:31 AM PST - 18 comments

Are there any inexpensive home routers with support for traffic shaping? I'm willing to load third-party firmware as long as it's stable and cheap. [more inside]posted by Eamon at 9:35 PM PST - 7 comments

I am trying to add more nuts to my diet (specifically almonds) but want to make sure I'm eating the right ones. Do tins of Planters mixed nuts or Blue Diamond smoked almonds have the same nutritional benefits of raw or dry-roasted nuts that I can find in the local Whole Foods store? [more inside]posted by jimmereeno at 8:34 PM PST - 9 comments

So I have these old macs (Power Macintosh 5500/225, Power Macintosh 6500/275 and a Power Macintosh 4400/200)... and I am obsessed with putting netBSD or a similar *nix operating system on them. [more inside]posted by Livewire Confusion at 7:12 PM PST - 2 comments

I'm trying to switch my cell phone from the LG VX4400B to a Motorola V60, both of which are branded by Verizon, my carrier. How do I go about doing this? [more inside]posted by daviss at 6:33 PM PST - 9 comments

Any tips on applying the grout to a newly-stone-veneered fireplace? Specifically, I was wondering if the grout level should be consistently laid into the crevices level with the flattest (least projecting) piece of stone. Any other advice welcome, as well! posted by clever sheep at 5:50 PM PST - 4 comments

I'm a self-admitted computer freak, and I primarily run Windows XP. On average, I have at least 5 windows open. I have a 20" flat panel, and I want to display multiple programs at once in a simple fashion. Is there software that can do this? Or should I, as I'm planning to do now, purchase another monitor? posted by creeront at 1:56 PM PST - 16 comments

Anyone here use a butter bell? I love the idea of spreadable butter all the time, but I'm afraid of it going rancid. It looks good in theory, but I'm wondering if anyone here has actually tried it. posted by ColdChef at 11:48 AM PST - 19 comments

Wanted to seek some advise about my Comcast internet connection and tech support problems which seem to happen almost two three times a year. It always makes me question myself for using VOIP (Vonage) for my phone service. [more inside]posted by flyby22 at 10:47 AM PST - 8 comments

After my friend put 5030 oil into his 1990 Toyota Camry Wagon, it began belching white smoke and the engine's overheating. What's going on, what can be done and how serious is this? He fears he destroyed his car through bad oil choices. posted by johngoren at 10:04 AM PST - 14 comments

This may be considered a little disgusting for some - it involves ingrown nasal hairs and a MYSTERIOUS DEVELOPMENT (queue twilight zone music) [more inside]posted by tomble at 10:45 PM PST - 21 comments

Inspired by Ken Livingstone's remarks here, I would like to read a good historical account of US-Mideast relations from WWI to the present; a good comprehensive primer which covers the various US-backed dictators, oil relationships, arms deals, elections and so forth. Of the books you've read on this topic, what's the best, most sober & objective book covering the last century of US-Mideast relations? posted by highsignal at 10:26 PM PST - 15 comments

This evening I watched the final episode of "Into the West" on TNT.
After watching the series, I realize that I know very little about Native American history - most particularly during the period depicted - roughly 1827 - 1892 [PDF].
What resources (books, DVD's, etc.) do you recommend from which I can learn more - particularly from a Native American perspective? posted by ericb at 9:51 PM PST - 16 comments

Me and a friend were planning a road trip to Canada in the next few coming weeks, but she has a problem: her passport expired, and her expired copy was destroyed. Is there any possible way to cross the border with only American identification documents? posted by invitapriore at 8:45 PM PST - 23 comments

A few years ago on a college radio station I heard a song that I'd like to find again. Acapella, girls, Japanese lyrics. The DJ said the name of the band was something like the Candy Eye Suckers or the Candy Eye Poppers or the Candy Eye Sockers. Either the song or the LP/EP may have been called "bakapella". None of these vaguely remembered terms seem to yield anything from google. Ring any bells? posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:23 PM PST - 2 comments

Why do so many clothing stores in southern California leave their doors open with the AC on and blasting into the scorching heat outside, even though we're in the middle of an energy crisis? I'm referring specifically to a Banana Republic store in an outdoor shopping district in Pasadena, California, but I've also seen this in other SoCal areas as well. Is this some marketing gimmick meant to entice customers away from the heat? Or do some employees really don't know any better? posted by invisible ink at 5:34 PM PST - 14 comments

My wife and I are both 59, hoping to retire at 62 if I don't get laid off before then. We live in the L.A. area which really isn't as bad as we'd feared -- then again, we're not into the studio/entertainment industry, so we tend to run across "regular" people.
But the housing costs are going to kill us when we retire ("half the income, twice the spouse") so we want to cash out our equity and move....... but where?
She's into crafts, I'm into music (bluegrass, play banjo). We're not afraid of the cold, or at least weren't 10 years ago when we moved from Cincinnati. Basically we want to buy a house for cash, be comfortable financially and otherwise and do something interesting and rewarding until we croak.
Beats us, hope it doesn't stump the MetaFilter posse.
/john [more inside]posted by banjomensch at 4:06 PM PST - 38 comments

I've moved from a small just-about pocket-sized digital camera to something a bit bigger (though not DSLR sized) that certainly isn't pocket-sized. But I have really liked the portability of the point-and-shoot... so what have the MeFi camera crowd found to be the best ways to carry around a chunky piece of kit with the least amount of bother and attention? It's just the camera I want to take around - no extra lenses or accessories. posted by humuhumu at 3:28 PM PST - 6 comments

This is a question on podcasting music rights -- largely because my phone calls to ASCAP and BMI have gone unreturned and, after reading this (and getting inconsistent answers from this and remaining unsure about whether a downloaded podcast counts as "webcasting" (Doc Searls says a podcast isn't radio, for example), my head hurts.
Let's say you have a blanket license. If you are using copyrighted background music, do you then have to clear each and every song through the record companies even if you are only using the song as background music (as the above ASCAP link suggests)? I know this is the way it works in film (and in many ways, film is easier). But does there exist an ASCAP-style agreement that works for podcasting in much the same way that it works for radio. And if this is the case, has anyone had any specific experiences dealing with record companies? Any leads that clear this up would be greatly appreciated. (From my interpretation, it seems that an ASCAP license would be utterly useless unless I had a karaoke podcasting show due to the "mechanical rights" issue.) Thanks again, folks. posted by ed at 3:21 PM PST - 11 comments

AuralChaos-Filter:
Just started a gig as a radio DJ at a local college radio station. I've always been a fan of slipping in random "found sounds" and other bits of audio chaos into mixtapes I've made for friends, and would like to continue the trend with my show. Think "How To Speak Hip", "Picking Up Girls Made Easy", Ken Nordine, or ANYTHING that's ever played on WFMU. I've found WFMU's On The Download and UBUWeb's 365 Days Project great resources, but I've pillaged them for all they are worth - Any other suggestions for obscuro audio out there? posted by rabble at 1:34 PM PST - 21 comments

I moved to London (SE4) just under a month ago. I've already found a great job (this is good), and I'd like to get broadband at home. I ordered ADSL from Demon just before I moved, I am still waiting for it to be installed, a month later. [more inside]posted by armoured-ant at 1:20 PM PST - 8 comments

amblyopia etiquette question: this comes up everytime i interact with someone who has amblyopia (aka 'lazy eye') and i hope others can offer some assistance. [more inside]posted by jmccw at 12:33 PM PST - 8 comments

A project at work has come up, and I would save a lot of time and hassle if I could somehow get my hands on a free (cheap is acceptable, as long as I can try it first), easy to use web-scraping program. The URL from which I will be scraping is static, unencrypted, and otherwise extremely vanilla. Suggestions? posted by Kwantsar at 11:37 AM PST - 12 comments

I'm having a dinner party where I'm serving a lemon mushroom and leek risotto and a red onion, pesto and goat cheese tart as the main dishes. What the hell kind of wine do I serve with that? posted by sciurus at 10:36 AM PST - 32 comments

Half-past Thirty Dating Filter: Here I am dating at 34, and it sure is a drag. But online dating sites make it strangely easy also. I'm curious about how people think about dating etiquette. [more inside]posted by OmieWise at 9:36 AM PST - 33 comments

If I open a piece of mail that was delivered to my house, but addressed to a former resident, is that, legally, "stealing mail" and thus a federal offense? [more inside]posted by cmonkey at 9:36 AM PST - 10 comments

Four or five years ago on the last page of The New Yorker was a spoof Details magazine copyediting test. I've lost my copy of it and can't find it anywhere online. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of it? posted by smich at 8:37 AM PST - 3 comments

SolarPowerFilter: My wife and I love the idea of solar power and would love to compliment our current electrical consumption with some tasty renewable energy, but where do we start? [more inside]posted by bjork24 at 6:24 AM PST - 13 comments

July 21

My cat has this spot on her back, where, if you scratch it, she goes absolutely insane- she starts purring loud, lifts her head up, sticks her tongue out and starts licking at the air. What on earth is going on? [more inside]posted by BuddhaInABucket at 11:06 PM PST - 29 comments

MetaPhishing: I just got another phishing email "from" PayPal. My question is whether it might not be effective to go to whatever site it is and spam them with fake personal info. What if a lot of people did this? [more inside]posted by trip and a half at 8:34 PM PST - 21 comments

What do you do with the assortment of cabling and other electronic doodaddery (especially that not currently being used and not wanting to throw away!) that one tends to accumulate in the course of lifetime when you have a love of almost all things electronic? [more inside]posted by dgeiser13 at 6:41 PM PST - 34 comments

What's the jaunty song in this trailer that kicks in right around when Bob says "I've been shot down, bloodied, accused, threatened, disgraced, betrayed"? posted by Bezbozhnik at 5:15 PM PST - 16 comments

I find myself responsible for a semi-large, quite varied chunk of landscaping. Shrubs, flowers, trees, you name it. I don't have a clue what I'm doing. Where can I find help? [more inside]posted by pornucopia at 2:15 PM PST - 9 comments

A relative who's nearly a hundred years old wishes to die.
This relative is housed and cared for, has had a huge and interesting life, but since losing sight and hearing and bladder control and autonomy and pretty much everything else, frankly would like to die. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:36 PM PST - 7 comments

We're thinking of moving to a somewhat remote (and beautiful) area. We may not be able to afford a house in the "rich" town with the "good" schools. We might have to settle for a house in the affordable/poor town next door with the mediocre schools. How much will this choice of grade school and/or high school affect my kids for college, life, etc.? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:36 PM PST - 28 comments

Damn it all to hell, I've gone and "pinked" both pairs of jeans I own by washing them with something red in the same load. Clearly, my innate stupidity is incurable, but is there hope for my pants? I think I'd rather walk into work in my boxers than swish in on twin ringlets of pink fringe. [more inside]posted by scarabic at 12:17 PM PST - 12 comments

I have the distinct feeling that the seller of the house I was supposed to close on today is deliberately trying to kill the deal in the eleventh hour. What are my options? [more inside]posted by friezer at 12:04 PM PST - 21 comments

I once heard that a person's ability to play checkers and chess is related to their depth perception. Any truth to this? Does depth perception have anything to do with one's ability to play board games? posted by elquien at 11:50 AM PST - 10 comments

My Google-fu fails. I'm trying to hunt down a Jawbox (?) European tour diary from the mid-late nineties that included an impossibly poignant account of their shows in the former Yugoslavia. [more inside]posted by verysleeping at 10:53 AM PST - 3 comments

I've just learnt (after an afternoon of struggling) that Apache's mod_write module doesn't work for embedded media, like a video in object tags. The best response I could get to my problem was "You'll gonna need a more sophisticated solution.". Well thanks. Any pointers? [more inside]posted by handybitesize at 10:35 AM PST - 5 comments

When I leave the 'grid' for vacation — weekend or week-long, it does not matter — I feel liberated. Free. Refreshed. When I return, ubiquitous media (especially television and internet) really get me down. Then, after a few days, I'm back on the grid, sucking from the teat of technology. I feel dirty. And guilty. Still, I love technology. It's like I'm addicted (especially to the internet), and only quitting cold-turkey helps. How does one cope with technology? Without becoming a Luddite, how does one break free of the addiction? How does one find balance?Note that I mean all technology — cars and phones and iPods, too — not just television and internet.posted by jdroth at 10:18 AM PST - 19 comments

Is it possible to make any kind of living primarily by reading? I ask because the way-smart twentysomething daughter of my friend has announced she has considered all of the options, and intends to read as her primary occupation from here forward, world without end, amen. [more inside]posted by lustra at 9:16 AM PST - 44 comments

I'd like to spend some time in San Francisco on foot, without have to lug my suitcase around. The storage lockers at SFO have been taken out of service for security reasons. Is there somewhere else I can store a suitcase for a day? posted by russilwvong at 7:47 AM PST - 12 comments

I was searching for student pricing for software and I came up with a site offering radical discounts on something I'm interested in. Is it too good to be true? [more inside]posted by jmevius at 7:29 AM PST - 17 comments

Related to an earlier question, but a local paper took one of my photos, altered it to remove my copyright mark, and then printed/posted it with an article. [more inside]posted by Jase at 6:31 AM PST - 27 comments

I want to transfer LP records to MP3s using a PC laptop. My research says I'll need a "line in" jack on my PC -- but all I have is a "mic." Can I use the mic as the line in, or is the solution more complicated than that? posted by CMichaelCook at 8:32 PM PST - 20 comments

Can anyone recommend a dictionary or guide to 17th-century English that would help my teenage daughter understand the words she comes across when reading Milton and the boys? posted by GoatCactus at 8:05 PM PST - 10 comments

I am looking for the coolest, sharpest, most sporty Coupe or Convertible that is a 4 Cyl. up to 5 years old that would cost under 20k today that can come in automatic (or some version of SMT) I am aware of the Toyota MR2 Spyder ... and the Eclipse.. but I am not a huge fan of the latter... and would like more options then just the prior!
Thanks! [more inside]posted by crewshell at 6:41 PM PST - 47 comments

I backed into a parking garage column a couple of months ago (it was in my blind spot) and tore up my rear bumper pretty bad. Would it be worth it to report this to my insurance, or would they probably increase my premiums as a result? (FWIW, the accident happened several months ago.) posted by designbot at 6:02 PM PST - 11 comments

I've got a marathon job interview coming up, and I'm looking for advice on: a professional purse or briefcase I can use; how to stay energized, alert and upbeat for two consecutive days; cultural things I should be aware of in northeast Florida. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 5:27 PM PST - 15 comments

Unemployment benefits. Long story short, although I was making production goals and coming to work on-time, dressed appropriately &c, my supervisor thought I "didn't like" my job and would be "more suited" for something else. So I was given the "quit or be fired" option. They said they would not contest my application for unemployment benefits (I'm in Illinois). I filled out the forms, explaining that I was fired for not "being suited" to the job, despite making goals. However, I've gotten a letter saying there are "questions" about my claim and I have to be intereviewed. How am I supposed to handle this? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 5:27 PM PST - 15 comments

Is well-canned food that has sat around in extreme temperatures safe? I recently bought some canned goods, let them sit in the back seat of my car in 100+ degree temperatures, and when I went to pick them out, they were painfully hot to the touch. Would this alter their safety for consumption? posted by wildblueyonder at 5:12 PM PST - 10 comments

China is scaring me. Specifically, the possibility that they'll make a play for Taiwan, the US will come to Taiwan's defense, and World War III (IV? V?) will break out. Are there good reasons this is unlikely? posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 4:51 PM PST - 62 comments

IEFilter: Is there a way to automatically launch and login to a specific website on IE when the computer starts? Assume you are not allowed to save the password within IE. posted by pencroft at 4:33 PM PST - 4 comments

I think im developing a chronic headache that started from concentrating very hard with brow furrowed but now seems to be brought on by much less strenuous thinking. [more inside]posted by dino terror at 4:05 PM PST - 9 comments

I went over the credit limit on my credit card and got whacked with a $35 fine --- again. Are there any cards that, instead of approving your over-the-limit transaction and then fining you for it, will instead decline transactions that are over your credit limit? posted by goethean at 2:12 PM PST - 15 comments

How and when did you develop your signature? Was it a conscious decision or something that developed after a long time of signing a lot of checks, birthday cards, legal documents, etc? Do you think your signature reflects your personality? [more inside]posted by adamk at 1:22 PM PST - 53 comments

I've been hearing alot about fluoride poisoning and such. I was wondering if anyone could give me the straight scoop on the fluoride controversy? Any Dentists here?
Is fluoride good or bad overall? Any links or ref... you could point me to would be great as well posted by nosophoros at 1:07 PM PST - 11 comments

Say you have an idea for a New Yorker-style cartoon, but you're not a cartoonist. I've heard you can sell these (a friend of my father's used to do so often). Can you still? How? posted by gottabefunky at 12:49 PM PST - 2 comments

Romantic Songs?
Hi. I like to keep a playlist handy on the iPod for those times when me and the wife are having some private time which may or may not lead into that most blessed of acts... [more inside]posted by glenwood at 12:41 PM PST - 20 comments

Name that tune!! It was used in commercials to advertise the HBO film "Empire Falls", and now to advertise a new show coming in the fall - E-Ring maybe? Anyway - it's kind of pop-rock sounding, male vocal. Lyrics: Something like - even when you cannot hear me ... I'll be right beside you dear. posted by clh at 11:00 AM PST - 3 comments

My house is a mess. It's out of control. No matter what we do, we can't seem to keep it under control for any period of time. We don't have systems for organizing our stuff. Laundry, dishes, bills, garage, the whole nine yards.
How do I find a way to keep the house in order?
Bonus points: we've got 3 children. posted by GernBlandston at 10:07 AM PST - 32 comments

Being from the UK I find the whole separation of church and state issue in the US confusing. At a recent public high school graduation "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" was sung by the school choir. Now that's clearly a Christian song, so why is it sung at such an occasion where non-Christians make up a large part of the student body? posted by TheManticore at 8:56 AM PST - 29 comments

I've written an album based on the book A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick. That is to say that it retells the story of the novel in pop song form. It's not a musical because there's only one vocalist and there's no "book". But it's like a musical insofar as it basically follows the plot, uses the character names, has key phrases worked into the lyrics, and I'm calling it "A Maze of Death". So, is that enough of an adaptation to be considered copyright infringement if I don't get permission? posted by ddf at 8:14 AM PST - 10 comments

HTML's <input type="file"> allows you browse to a directory and select a file. Suppose I want to capture the directory path, not a file contained therein? Is it possible to browse to C:\Documents\Workstuff and capture *not* a file in that directory, but the directory path itself? Know what I mean? posted by jpoulos at 8:13 AM PST - 6 comments

Sologig.com -- Opinions? Unlike Monster.com, it has a membership fee. I'm wondering about it from the job seeker standpoint. Can someone who paid the fee tell me how good the job listings are? Are they up to par with Monster's? posted by nancoix at 6:25 AM PST - 0 comments

July 19

I'm trying to locate a wonderful quote by Stendhal, the spirit of which was something along the lines of: "in [such and such year], my friends would have done anything to help me out if I were in serious trouble, but if they caught me in nice clothes, they'd spill a drink on me." Of course, the actual quote is infinitely more elegant. posted by ori at 11:17 PM PST - 5 comments

Picky beverage question: I like hanging out with my friends in bars and such but I'm rather limited in what I'll drink. I don't drink alcohol for one, or caffeine or sugary beverages for that matter... [more inside]posted by garethspor at 11:16 PM PST - 23 comments

Ireland Work and Travel Filter: I will be in Ireland for the month of September, to see what it might be like to live and work there, as well as have a nice holiday. I’m planning on staying in Dublin for most, if not all, of this trip.
My professional background includes nearly ten years of experience in marketing and business development for architecture, engineering, and construction management firms. Additionally, I have some experience with sustainable/green building projects, project management, and document control systems. [more inside]posted by trixie_bee at 10:02 PM PST - 6 comments

I was introduced to a fantastic image linked here on MetaFilter years ago. The image was a standard riff on the ascent of man motif, with the final Homo Sapiens looking up to the stars, and a message along the lines of "At NASA, we know where our future lies." If my memory stills works, it was originally a poster. Can anyone help me locate this? Apparently, my google-fu hasn't evolved since then, and constant browsing of NASA's image archive has been fruitless. posted by jgee at 9:34 PM PST - 5 comments

Does bleach need to be neutralized after the mildew is cleaned, and before painting? Bad mildew in the tenant's bathroom. Scrubbed with 1:2 bleach:water to great success. After it is rinsed, then dries thoroughly, can it be primed and painted, or does it have to be neutralized, or ?? posted by theora55 at 9:01 PM PST - 6 comments

Ever written a letter complaining about poor service to a large, international company? Did it accomplish anything or just waste your time? And if you saw results, any tips worth sharing? [more inside]posted by herc at 8:50 PM PST - 24 comments

Are either or both of "you'd" / "you'ld" correct contractions for "you would"? Specifically asking about American usage, but any English language information would be appreciated. posted by true at 8:33 PM PST - 22 comments

A friend of mine is a musician and his first album was signed to an independent record label. Now he and the label both want to promote the album to podcasters, but they're worried by the fact that he's registered with ASCAP.
ASCAP wants a podcaster to pay $300 for the privilege of promoting his music. The label owner is willing to license the album through Creative Commons, but could a Podcaster still be sued for playing his music?
Outside of terminating his contract with ASCAP, how does a signed artist and label go about calling off the ASCAP/BMI dogs? Here's a link to the ASCAP agreement. posted by Pinwheel at 8:19 PM PST - 11 comments

How come most websites roll their own authentication methods around cookie-based sessions, rather than using http authentication built in to most web servers? Is this a security issue, or a user interface issue? Or something else? posted by namespan at 7:59 PM PST - 8 comments

Anybody know of a good Windows utility for monitoring the activities of program installation software? Most importantly what gets written to disk (file writes and registry entries), but a log of the installation program's net activity would be a bonus. [more inside]posted by iconjack at 7:00 PM PST - 8 comments

How do I get two computers connected to a WiFi network to be able to share files?
Both are connected through the same Linksys Wireless-B router. One is running XP SP2, the other XP. posted by teaperson at 5:40 PM PST - 10 comments

What overflows into the cold water tank in our loft? The tank overflowed itself because water was pouring into it from an overflow pipe. This continued for many minutes, until I turned the main stopcock off. It has never happened before. [more inside]posted by denishowe at 5:22 PM PST - 2 comments

I'm looking for a website/online store that sells stickers for the back of your ipod, a bigger similar sticker that covers the top of your laptop, and a collection of small storage tins that also serve as refrigerator magnets... [more inside]posted by Heminator at 11:50 AM PST - 2 comments

I have an eleven month old baby at home. She's a sweet kid, but she refuses to sleep unless she's being held. She sleeps fine throug the night, it's just durring naps. It's driving my wife crazy, does anyone know any tricks for getting a child to sleep in a crib alone? We've tried the "Let them cry it out" method and it doesn't really seem to work for us. But any advice would help. posted by ejhdigdug at 11:47 AM PST - 15 comments

Does a store really have the right to search my bag? I'm a guy and I carry a messenger bag. It always offends me when a store employee or security guard stops me and demands to search my bag on my way out of the store. Can I say no? [more inside]posted by evoo at 11:16 AM PST - 38 comments

I just got a compact disc encrypted with XCP technology. How do I rip it to my Mac G5 computer (OSX 10.4.2)? I want to put the music on my iPod as well as run it on my music server here at home. I have Virtual PC if a Windows app is necessary. posted by thewiseacre at 10:46 AM PST - 15 comments

I'm applying to a 1 year 2nd Bachelors nursing program at a well-regarded university. One of the essay questions on the admissions form reads "Describe a setback or ethical dilemma you have faced..." [more inside]posted by klarck at 10:05 AM PST - 6 comments

Moira Kelly, who played the annoying Mandy in the first season of The West Wing, disappears from later seasons. We are given some elusive suggestions to what may have happened to her character on the show, but what was the real-world story? Did Aaron Sorkin get sick of Kelly, and if so, why? posted by willbaude at 7:47 AM PST - 37 comments

Just recently I started collaborating on projects with the web developers at the ad agency I work for - and quickly realized that I am out of my depth. [more inside]posted by theinsectsarewaiting at 7:36 AM PST - 9 comments

"Kids are less likely to do drugs if you ask them where they are going, what time they are going to return, and if adults will be present." [more inside]posted by odinsdream at 7:34 AM PST - 34 comments

I've got a website which is generated by Blogger, featuring articles I've written. My problem is that it seems that Blogger's maximum archive period is a month. As I only write 1 or 2 (or sometimes 0) things per month that I want to put up, the monthly archive doesn't really work; I really need an annual archive thing. Can anyone suggest a way that I can get round this? Do any other blogging services support this? I'd hate to have to investigate the murky world of Movable Type, but I'd rather do that than leave things as they are at the moment. [more inside]posted by rhodri at 7:33 AM PST - 3 comments

When I look at something (without my glasses) that's about 100 feet away, it looks a little blurry. If I look at a photo that includes stuff that's 100 feet away from the perspective, it's not blurry, of course, it's just smaller. BUT, if I look in a mirror, let's say a rear view mirror of a car, at something that's 100 feet behind me, it looks blurry, rather than just small. [more inside]posted by Framer at 4:57 AM PST - 20 comments

How do I discover all of the domain names registered to a given party? Not "who owns this domain?" but "what domains does this party own?" [more inside]posted by NinjaPirate at 4:51 AM PST - 3 comments

July 18

Windows 2000 users and passwords: Is it possible for Windows to start up without any password prompting, yet have the OS [reasonably] safe from a bot logging in as an admin? [more inside]posted by rolypolyman at 11:27 PM PST - 4 comments

Today the top half of a regular wall outlet stopped working. No pulling or pushing of plugs was involved, and the bottom half still delivers electricity without problems (AFAIK). As the bottom half is still powered, it doesn't appear to be a switch or fuse issue (None are tripped). How would this happen, and how difficult a repair is this likely to be? Is it likely a problem simply with the outlet itself, or the wiring in the wall? posted by birdsquared at 9:18 PM PST - 11 comments

How does everyone keep up with new music? Over the past year, blind luck and close reading of a few blogs turned me on to some music I'm glad I didn't miss (Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem). Work and other obligations prevent me from listening to KCRW, KEXP or some other "hip" radio stream all day, and I just don't have the time to read through x-amount of MP3 blogs a day looking for the next exciting thing. Pitchfork's 'Best New Music' feature is helpful, but I'd like something more. Ideally, I'd like a podcast of non-podsafe (i.e., whatever's new and good, signed or otherwise) music or a single blogger who posts frequently and writes well. I'm not looking for a bootlegging outlet, just a reliable source for direction on what's new and worth my time. posted by boombot at 7:54 PM PST - 34 comments

Last month I saw the Space Invader show in Los Angeles at sixspace and was struck by one of the types of pieces he had on display: tile mosaics suspended in transaparent blocks of resin (as in this picture). Anyway, I'm wondering how to do it myself - I'm not going to copy one of his pieces, I just want to make a present for my little sister. The tiles are suspended exactly in the center of the block, and yet there aren't any weird mold lines or bubbles or anything - nothing to suggest they were made in two stages. I'm guessing the resin he used was Alumilite Clear.
Does anyone have any idea how to make something like this? Would I have to pressure mold? Would it be possible to make a mosaic and then take it to a professional and have them encase it in a clear block? Help! posted by symbebekos at 7:09 PM PST - 8 comments

VanityFilter: My hair's about 3 inches long, curly and turns into a huge afro in this constant humidity. How come and what kind of product can I use to stop this? [more inside]posted by slapshot57 at 6:27 PM PST - 11 comments

I just graduated college with a little debt. I have large amount of money coming my way next year. How do I keep payments and interest at a minimum and just pay everything off next year? [more inside]posted by trinarian at 6:14 PM PST - 5 comments

Has anyone here ever had (or have) sciatica? I've been going to physio for it, since May, but the healing process is quite slow, I just started going back to the gym doing low intensity cardio. For those who have had sciatica, how long did it take to heal, and is it a lifelong thing you now have to worry about? posted by bluehermit at 6:07 PM PST - 14 comments

When I was a kid, back in the '70s, our PBS stations would show physics demonstrations by a white haired old guy with an overbite. I loved everything about this guy and his demonstrations. He'd get so excited by predicted results that were observed in experiment. What is his name? Can I find these on video in any form?posted by sydnius at 3:59 PM PST - 8 comments

I am looking for a way toget around an Ebay seller country restrictrion. Basicly i need an item to be shipped to Canada and the seller will only ship to the United States... I have offered to cover customs fee if any and take care of the shiping details without any succes. what are my options now ? Are there other alternative ? re-mailing services ? PO boxes ? I am sure many people in here have been frustrated before by a similar situation and maybe someone has a better idea than going down there. posted by selfsck at 3:48 PM PST - 19 comments

Migraine sufferers, what are your triggers, how quickly/consistently do they bring on your migraines, and what prescription meds work best for you? [more inside]posted by kimota at 2:45 PM PST - 34 comments

A friend is getting married in a few months and wants suggestions for songs to dance with her father to that aren't too cheesy, but also not too obscure. Suggestions? posted by adamkempa at 2:01 PM PST - 17 comments

Sun is EOL'ing the V480 and V880, replacing them with slightly faster models (the V480 and V890). 480s and 880s run on 110-240VAC, but 490s and 890s are 200-240VAC only. Can anybody explaing the logic for this change? posted by mosch at 1:48 PM PST - 2 comments

I contantly suffer from the-grass-is-always-greener syndrome. When I'm single, I crave being in a relationship. When I'm in a relationship, I crave being single. I'm afraid that it's going to screw up my current, excellent relationship ... [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:59 PM PST - 20 comments

What's the best way to deal with difficult freelance clients? I recently designed a logo for a small business and they are arguing about paying me. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:59 PM PST - 19 comments

I bought Electoplankton for Nintendo DS from Japan, and it came with some free Nintendo headphones. They have a component on them near the plug, which the lead enters and exists from. It has hinges and looks like it should open, but it doesn't. I can't work out what it's for. Any ideas? posted by Pretty_Generic at 12:32 PM PST - 6 comments

I can't configure my Airport Extreme. I've been having trouble with my Airport Extreme holding a DSL connection - so attempted to change configuration but couldn't access it (says there was an error in reading configuration). I've reset the Airport (holding the reset button for five seconds) and can see the airport with the Apple assigned name. I use the password "public" but still get the same error message. Can't get at the configuration page with either the airport setup or Airport utility software. [more inside]posted by jjcurtis at 12:08 PM PST - 7 comments

Our Irish wolfhound has torn the ACL in one of her hind legs, and the knee is going to require surgery. We're worried about how to keep her "calm" and "off that leg" after the surgery, for 3 or 4 weeks, as the surgeon tells us we'll have to do. [more inside]posted by BoringPostcards at 11:57 AM PST - 7 comments

Has anyone ever used the Petsmart PetsHotel? Alternatively, are there any Austinites out there who can personally recommend an Austin/Round Rock area petsitter or boarder for small dogs? [more inside]posted by roundrock at 10:47 AM PST - 3 comments

There is a quote from St. Augustine, suggesting that while it is impossible to help all beings in need, it is incumbent on us to help those who happen to intersect with our lives.
Anyone know the actual quote, and where it "lives" in his writings? posted by everichon at 10:27 AM PST - 8 comments

I'm looking for a poster from the movie "Fargo," but not the one that's commonly available. It's easy to find the one that looks like a cross-stitched sampler and says "A homespun murder story." But instead I want the one that says "A lot can happen in the middle of nowhere." (Actually, as long as it says that, I don't care what the image looks like.) I believe it may have been to promote not the movie, but the DVD, or a DVD special edition. I've searched various movie-poster stores, eBay, etc, but they all have the sampler one. Any ideas? Thanks! posted by GaelFC at 9:30 AM PST - 9 comments

Where could I get a "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" windshield sticker? You know, like the collegiate one's you see on the back of alumni's cars? [more inside]posted by icontemplate at 9:26 AM PST - 3 comments

I have a memory card (SD 1G, 6 months old) that has stopped working for some reason. None of the electronics (my camera, palm) that I used it with are able to read it, and when I formatted the card on my computer (which didn't fix the problem), there is about 128mb of files that I cannot delete or move. Any ideas on how I can get this thing working again? posted by Quartermass at 8:52 AM PST - 6 comments

A couple months ago I saw three parked cars in a row with the same bumper sticker. I made the requisite "Are they on the same team?" crack. Since then, I've been noticing the same bumper sticker on other cars. What is it? [more inside]posted by clearlynuts at 8:14 AM PST - 13 comments

Maybe I'm an idiot, but I'm confused: How is it possible, that when Robert Novak wrote the first article outing Valerie Plame, that it's not him, but those 2 other reporters who get threatened with jail time. Can someone explain it to me in more specific terms than a conspiracy theory? posted by asavage at 7:57 AM PST - 25 comments

Why won't my iTrip work? I have a first-generation iPod, the kind with the big FireWire port on top... when I plug the iTrip into the iPod's FireWire and headphone jack, it doesn't play. The LED doesn't come on, and nothing is transmitted to the FM radio. If I press the iTrip down harder into the iPod, the iPod shows the "battery empty" icon and won't wake up until I plug in AC power. (This despite the iPod having a full battery the whole time.) Am I missing something, or is the iPod or iTrip defective? (Not impossible, given that the iPod is several years old) posted by mark7570 at 7:26 AM PST - 5 comments

I suspect that this is impossible, but; is there a technique that would allow me to remove ink from paper without affecting the appearance of the paper? Specifically, I would like to remove marks left by a black, self-inking stamp on the fly-leaf of a book. [more inside]posted by Grod at 6:20 AM PST - 2 comments

When I was a child, I remember a Spanish-language claymation short consistently airing with one of the English-speaking PBS educational series. [more inside]posted by WCityMike at 5:40 AM PST - 7 comments

My wife and I are planning on driving a friend's car from Austin, TX to Seattle, WA, and we're wondering what to see along the way. One place we want to hit on the way is the Grand Canyon, so that constrains the question quite a bit. We've picked a few other national parks in which we're interested (although we won't have time for them all), but we're curious to see what other "must sees" people might suggest. [more inside]posted by abingham at 5:10 AM PST - 18 comments

I have a problem playing a particular quicktime movie in the Quicktime 7 application itself even though the video plays fine when I "preview" it in the Finder under Mac OS X 10.4.2. [more inside]posted by gyc at 3:29 AM PST - 4 comments

Can anyone point me to scholarly articles/resources on the way pedestrians navigate through a scene? I'm specifically interested in the "flow" of pedestrians around obstacles. [more inside]posted by handee at 3:09 AM PST - 13 comments

I'm looking for some very simple Windows freeware that will let the 20-odd people in my office assign hours to projects and then add up the costs. [more inside]posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:25 AM PST - 4 comments

Which credit card companies offer custom photos on their cards? I know Bank of America lets you do the "photo expressions," and it covers half of the card, but I remember a while back seeing an advertisement in a magazine from a credit card company that let you pick a photo that basically covered the entire card.
Anyone know what I'm talking about? posted by petah at 2:42 PM PST - 2 comments

Why don't our tootbrushes make us ill? They sit out all day with our mouth germs and lord knows what else lingering there. Does toothpaste have anything to do with this? posted by schoolgirl report at 11:54 AM PST - 28 comments

How does a toaster's light-dark control work?
Perhaps something clever with a bi-metallic strip... can't
believe the toast's 'doneness' is actually being tested;
but from experience it seems more sophisticated than just
adjusting a timer. How do dem? [more inside]posted by Rash at 11:18 AM PST - 12 comments

Times Online (UK) - how can I find the non-printFriendly link to an article which I found by using search and which is stuck in an ugly print-friendly format? [more inside]posted by suleikacasilda at 7:06 AM PST - 7 comments

I have an Epson CX5200 multipurpose printer. It needed ink cartridges, so it sat idle for a while. Now I need to use it and the color of the ink catridge that I replaced (yellow) is only appearing in thin bands.
I've tried cleaning the jets, printing page after page of a 75% Y block from Illustrator and so far no change. Anyone have any fantastic tips? posted by Mayor Curley at 7:02 AM PST - 7 comments

July 16

I'm looking for a good place for a late-evening dinner between Newark airport (EWR) and Parsippany. I'm flying into EWR from the west coast this Thursday and my flight lands at 8. By the time I get into my rental car for the drive to Parsippany, it's probably about 9:00. If I were to go directly to my hotel, I'd probably check in and be in my room a little before 10, when a lot of restaurants close. [more inside]posted by stevil at 11:25 PM PST - 5 comments

JewishHistoryFilter : Can anybody recommend a good book that dissects the common Jewish conspiracy theories and discusses their history? Extra points for readability. [more inside]posted by afroblanca at 8:45 PM PST - 21 comments

I'm trying to find out the penalty for a third conviction of possession of a controlled substance in California. My friend is contemplating, as a last resort, calling the police on her sister, a methamphetamine abuser. I haven't been able to find anything. posted by camfys at 8:20 PM PST - 25 comments

I have a Frontpage Template and a Photoshop PSD file that is the graphic for the template. I need to update the PSD file - which I can do in Imageready, but I have problems updating the original HTML. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? Or export and make a brand new HTML file with rollovers? posted by bright77blue at 8:17 PM PST - 5 comments

I've got a coding project, which will make me a bazillion dollars if I can pull it off. But I'm having trouble starting it, partially because I'm not a well-trained programmer, and partially becuase I'm unsure of whether to seek help. [more inside]posted by metaculpa at 3:56 PM PST - 22 comments

I've been asked by my library's genealogy department to make copies of documents that are too delicate and/or unwieldy to place on top of a copy machine or scanner... [more inside]posted by mcsweetie at 2:04 PM PST - 14 comments

How much does it cost (or what is the amount of electricity / volume of water used) to do one full load of laundry, as an average. Or, how would I go about getting precise figures for this? I want to know how much too much we pay to operate the pay-per-load laundry machines in our new apartment building. posted by ChrisR at 12:36 PM PST - 5 comments

Home Improvement Filter: We are redoing a bathroom and have a mirror removal debacle. Specifically, how does one remove a large (say, 2.5'x3.5' or so) mirror that has been (apparenlty) LiquidNails'ed to the wall for approximately 20 years without killing oneself? [more inside]posted by Medieval Maven at 11:03 AM PST - 15 comments

i'm trying to replace the forks on my motorcycle. it's a 1976 honda cb 550. The work seems pretty straightforward -- but all of the instructions i read begin with 'lift the front wheel by putting the engine on a block.
how do i do that??!!
thanks. posted by milkman at 10:32 AM PST - 5 comments

I'm looking to get some new sandals with the intention of going hiking/camping/rock climbing/etc in them. I already know of Tevas, but even those have multiple variations so I turn to y'all's experience and suggestions of specific sandals to buy for outdoor use. I'd like to stay under $100, but I understand it might not be doable. posted by jmd82 at 9:50 AM PST - 17 comments

Why does fresh meat at the supermarket often start to turn brown after a couple days? Are the blood cells still clotting or something? Does it effect the flavor of the meat? posted by plainfeather at 6:14 AM PST - 18 comments

GTA San Andreas question: I'm on the mission with Zero where you have to use the little RC plane to destroy Berkley's five couriers. I can't pass it. I've read the strategy guides and there aren't shortcuts, although in most guides it's rated the hardest in the game. I'm stuck. Anybody who's played it before got any brilliant ideas? posted by saysthis at 5:44 AM PST - 15 comments

Can anyone translate something from Dutch (or possibly Flemish) to English for me? I ordered tickets from a foreign website and it all went wrong.. [more inside]posted by ascullion at 4:19 AM PST - 16 comments

I was recently prescribed Tylenol 3 for post-surgery pain (ankle fracture)--I've really only needed it at night. The last time I took it was last night (Friday) at about 11:30 pm. I'm going to a wedding tonight. Do I need to worry about the interaction with alcohol even though my "last dose" will have been about 18 hours prior? In other words, can I drink at the wedding?! posted by fabesfaves at 3:39 AM PST - 11 comments

July 15

I'm off to spend the wintery month of August in Australia and New Zealand. Im visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, and Uluru in Austalia, then flying over to New Zealand where I'll work my way down from Auckland to Christchurch. I'm looking for recommendations on where to stay, where and what to eat & drink, and what to see and do, as well as answers to a few specific questions. [more inside]posted by jewishbuddha at 8:00 PM PST - 32 comments

Has anyone written a tool that lets you manage multiple Gmail accounts? I'm envisioning something similar to the Gmail notifier, that lets you log on to 3+ accounts at once and easily check them. posted by agropyron at 7:25 PM PST - 15 comments

Protecting Powerbook finish (paint). I recently purchased a Powerbook, and am somewhat dismayed at how easily the outside scratches, despite my attempts to protect it Powerbook even while I use it. [more inside]posted by ParisParamus at 5:56 PM PST - 5 comments

San-Diego-business-trip-filter
Guten Tag, the good Dr. Strangelove will in San Diego half-day August 6th, all day on the 7th, business on the 8th...
What to do with the free time? [more inside]posted by strangelove at 4:17 PM PST - 8 comments

I'm doing some research on Adblocking software for web browsing. I'm interested in webpages with a lot of ads, or various types of ads on one page to run tests against. Do you have links to any particularily annoying pages? posted by blue_beetle at 4:10 PM PST - 9 comments

Has anyone noticed a link between a megacorp's poor customer service and tons of "smily happy people" clip art on their ads and websites? I've been noticing a strong connection, to the extent that it's a warning flag for me not to do business with them. Am I imagining it or do they all do this? posted by shannymara at 3:33 PM PST - 9 comments

How can I get the cells in my MS Word table to "stick together"? It keeps putting page breaks in weird places, leaving a single cell stranded at the top of a page. [more inside]posted by exceptinsects at 2:33 PM PST - 7 comments

I'm buying property in California with a down payment from my mother in Switzerland. Is it better to call it a loan or a gift (for tax and legal reasons)? posted by letitrain at 2:22 PM PST - 19 comments

I've just been given the task of buying an external hard drive for my work, and am looking for advice on which specifications I should pay attention to when comparing different options. The drive will contain data files, and the idea is that we'll run statistical analyses (using SPSS, SAS, R, etc.) on files that reside on the drive. The main feature I'm concerned about is speed -- I don't want the drive to slow down the analyses. But we won't be transferring large files to/from the drive very often, so transfer speed isn't important in that sense. Which features are most important for this purpose? [more inside]posted by nixxon at 12:42 PM PST - 17 comments

AudioTheatreFilter: I was an avid listener of SciFi.com's Seeing Ear Theatre, but the site has been stagnant for years and I've finally decided it's time to move on. So what's out there in online radio/audio drama? [more inside]posted by nelleish at 11:25 AM PST - 3 comments

I need help with my parent's iBook (OS 9.2). They want wireless internet but there's no PC-card slot, nor an "under the keyboard" option. There is a USB port. Anybody know of a $20 USB-adapter that will work with OS 9. I already know about the AeroPad, but that sucker is $70! [more inside]posted by zpousman at 10:52 AM PST - 8 comments

Can anyone recommend a good veterinarian in the San Francisco area who is flexible in terms of paying for large procedures, or can anyone direct me to services to help finance a high ticket vet procedure? [more inside]posted by catfood at 10:47 AM PST - 6 comments

Some people have a "mental alarm clock". They can tell themselves to wake up at a certain hour, and their eyes spring open right on schedule. How can I do this, and how does it work? I've tried it on many occasions, but it only works about 30% of the time. Bonus candy for anyone who can tell me how to actually get up when my mental alarm goes off, instead of just rolling over and going back to sleep. posted by rwhe at 10:39 AM PST - 30 comments

Science Magazine? I'm a fairly smart guy, much more focussed on the humanities than on science. I'd like to subscribe to a magazine that will raise my science IQ and teach me neat stuff, without overwhelming me with articles I find impossible to understand. There are nice new magazines for everything these days that are pitched smart but not expert. What would be the scientific equivalent? posted by OmieWise at 9:14 AM PST - 48 comments

I'm looking for a history of the western, scientific reaction to the platypus. Specifically, but not limited to, George Shaw's suspicion that the animal was a hoax. I have found many bits and pieces , but am looking for for the whole thing stitched together - thanks. posted by R. Mutt at 8:43 AM PST - 7 comments

Xanax and anxiety have been discussed here before, but I've recently been prescribed Xanax to be taken on an as-needed (during an attack) basis and am too scared to take it. [more inside]posted by juniper at 8:31 AM PST - 21 comments

In James T. Farrell's novel The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan (1934), Studs's favorite beverage of choice (other than booze) is a coffee an'. What is a coffee an' ? posted by Prospero at 7:54 AM PST - 7 comments

AMSTERDAM: I'm flying to the dam tonight, meeting with 4 friends sometime around midnight. Can anyone recommend a good club or bar for 5 guys in their thirties to hit later?... and any other places to go over the weekend? (we're not interested in the touristy side, we have all done that in our twenties). Thanks [more inside]posted by Frasermoo at 7:31 AM PST - 6 comments

Any good (= decent, clean and fairly priced) hotels or B&B's in Pointe au Baril, Ontario CA? If you know of a good place where a lonely traveller might find a meal, it 'd be appreciated too. posted by NekulturnY at 6:50 AM PST - 5 comments

I just bought a Wireless Kensington Expert Mouse, and I'm trying to convince myself I like it. Ergonomically, I think it's better for my hand and wrist in the long run, but there is one thing that's really bugging me: I can set keystrokes for any of the buttons, but it only sends the key to the computer when I release the button. I use a Mac, and I have the F9 key programmed in on the trackball for Expose, but this means I can't just hold it, move to the window I want, and release it like I'm able to do on my Logitech mx700. I have to click, move, and click again ("waa", I know). Any suggestions for making this work using Kensington's MouseWorks driver? Are there any third-party apps/drivers out there that could take care of this?
Furthermore, does anyone have experience switching from a mouse to a trackball? Did you stay with the trackball, and what merits/flaws do you see in both devices? posted by jruckman at 6:28 AM PST - 12 comments

I have finished building a dining table and want to use an all glass tabletop instead of wood top. The idea is that the glass top would rest on four leg supports. Originally I was thinking of getting grey tinted glass with countersunk holes that sits on dowel pins. Turns out it is almost a custom job and the cost is coming out to be too much for 0.5 inch glass. If I go with 3/8 inch glass then apparently they do not make grey tinted version of those. So here are my questions -
What are good ways to prevent a glass top from sliding around when it is resting on four flat contact points which may be 1 to 2 inch in diameter. Special transparent glue ? or sticky pads ? I am looking for a clean look.
The other question is what is a good way to get the tinted glass effect. I was thinking of may be using grey colored films. Not sure if that is the best way. If you think that is a good way i would appreciate some pointers to good sources of such films. Thanks posted by flyby22 at 6:19 AM PST - 23 comments

I've started into my first serious foray into amateur photography. The only fully-manual camera I could get my hands on for free is 35mm, so I'm now confronted with a problem that I haven't really ever dealt with before: where to get it developed. I want digital scans of most of my photos, for easy storage and Flickring, and there are a number of corollary requirements as well. [more inside]posted by Plutor at 4:50 AM PST - 25 comments

Does anyone have any experience with Personal Contract lease of cars? I'm just working out how to spend my new car allowance in my job - and I like the idea of leasing a car (replaced every three years, maintained, get some cash back for my old car etc etc)
The sites on the web look a little hard-sell (obviously) and I'm stuck for good clear guidance of whether this is a good option or not. This is in the UK btw posted by mattr at 2:56 AM PST - 1 comment

I'm stumped on an Access/PDF problem. I'm printing a number of 1-page files from an Access report into pdf. The resulting pdf is almost, but not quite, right. If I select text - copy - paste into Notepad or Word from the .pdf, there's only gobbledygook, which means the pdf is effectively unsearchable. [more inside]posted by Kevs at 2:05 AM PST - 4 comments

Can you suggest a free service that will make a smart logo for the heading of web sites. (Something similar to the nice logos at Gotlogos gallery, which is a paid service) posted by webmeta at 2:04 AM PST - 23 comments

On September 17, 2003 Spanish über-judge Baltasar Garzón issued a 700-page indictment of the "Madrid cell" of al Qaeda for its support role in the 9/11 attacks. Is this document online anywhere? Has it ever been translated? posted by dhartung at 12:47 AM PST - 3 comments

EtiquetteFilter: I'm going to dinner with a friend of mine tomorrow evening. It was also my birthday last weekend and my friend was out of town at the time. So, I have a hunch that he may offer to pay for dinner because of, you know, the birthday thing. Here's the twist -- he was laid off about two weeks ago... [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:18 AM PST - 25 comments

July 14

Tipping Filter: Yes, another tipping question. Tomorrow, I am having furniture delivered from a large company. Do I tip the delivery guy? If so, how much? [more inside]posted by picklebird at 7:05 PM PST - 13 comments

I am having problems with crosstools on OS 10.3.9 - Does anyone have this setup working? Any general advice on crosscompiling on a Mac for ARM is also welcome. [more inside]posted by mzurer at 6:55 PM PST - 1 comment

I own a 4G iPod. I'm renting a Penske truck to move from Memphis to Boston. What are the options for playing my iPod in the truck? I of course don't want to spend a ton of money because I will only use the setup for a few days, but I'm still interested in hearing all the options you can think of. posted by abbyladybug at 5:53 PM PST - 21 comments

Hello. I just found out the new Canon D20 digital SLR we use in the office doesn't allow one to use the LCD for framing - it can only be used for playback. This seems odd to me, since the Nikon digital SLR (and every single compact digital camera) I had used previously did. Is there some kind of firmware update or hack that would allow the LCD to be used as a finder? It would be tremendously helpful to be able to use it as such, especially when the icons relating to camera state etc. are all superimposed on top of the image on the PCD. I'm surprised that this camera doesn't allow that, when other digital SLRs (and all of Canon's lower-end cameras) do. posted by luriete at 4:22 PM PST - 27 comments

How do you override gut emotional reactions?
In other words, how can you bring your feelings into agreement with a conflicting conclusion you have reached via rational thinking? posted by koenie at 3:04 PM PST - 18 comments

When a cover band plays at a club, an event or whatever, is somebody supposed to pay royalties for the songs? If so, how much? Do ASCAP and BMI send out goons to enforce? posted by punkfloyd at 1:47 PM PST - 12 comments

I have a quote from and a link to an AP article published a few months ago. Problem is, searching for the quote on Google gives no relevant results, the link now goes to an error page saying the article was not found, and I can't find the article in a search of the AP archives. What to do? posted by punishinglemur at 1:43 PM PST - 12 comments

What are some persuasive points to make to help someone realize that stereotyping isn't a desirable way of categorizing people? Say that the person's main argument when you say, "Hey, that's stereotyping!" is, "I'm not saying I hate them; I'm not saying they're bad; I'm just saying they talk loud/don't tip well/act just like that skit on SNL." How also to explain the sometimes subtle difference between saying: "People from this region/culture talk like this," (accents) and "People from this region/culture act like this," (possible stereotype)? I already immediately say that I don't like to hear sweeping comments about particular races/cultures/religions/genders in order to get the person to stop saying that stuff around me (and potentially around others)... but the chance to make a comment that could be thought-provoking is very tempting. posted by xo at 1:13 PM PST - 32 comments

Dropping-out-of-the-rat-race Filter: Suggest good work-study or scholarship programs for someone looking to spend about a year taking a break from the 9 to 5. [more inside]posted by MsMolly at 1:10 PM PST - 6 comments

I'm using Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger), and Microsoft Word 2004. Where the heck can I find some free Hebrew fonts that will show up in a freakin' Word doc?!? I've tried several Unicode fonts (SBL Hebrew and Cardo) - they show up in my Word font menu, but only with English characters! Can I still download either TrueType or PostScript fonts, or did those stop working on Macs during the days of New Coke and Reagonomics? posted by ericbop at 1:02 PM PST - 4 comments

I am interested in developing three new blogs, all for business purposes. I have the business mind and the game plan, but don't have enough time to learn how to use systems like Movable Type or Word Press. Does anyone know where I can get some help? posted by bamassippi at 12:30 PM PST - 6 comments

BadWordFilter - Does the word "buttf**ker" refer to a man who sodomizes a woman, and in turn is just a "dirty sex act" word, or does it refer to a homosexual who sodomizes a man and in turn is a homophobic word? Likewise for "cocks**ker"? When calling someone a "cocks**ker" are you calling them a "girl" or are you calling them a "homo"? Am I thinking too much about it, or should I avoid using these words around women / homosexuals so not to appear sexist / homophobic? posted by pwb503 at 11:31 AM PST - 41 comments

I'm honeymooning in Costa Rica in the middle of September, primarily in Quepos/Manuel Antonio and the Waterfall Gardens in Varablanca. Some friends have told us we'll absolutely hate it because all it will do is rain rain rain during the time. Is this the case? Also: tell me stuff to do! Even if it is raining. A billion thanks. posted by xmutex at 11:30 AM PST - 11 comments

An article in my local newspaper on the removal of roadside crosses (and having just read Carl Hiassen's "Skinny Dip," in which a minor character collects roadside crosses and replants them in his backyard) made me wonder if non-Christians put up non-cross roadside memorials, and if there are websites with examples. posted by Joleta at 11:28 AM PST - 14 comments

I rented a car on a recent trip to Ontario, Canada (I live in the US) and got a parking ticket.
I paid the rental cash but I guess the rental company would have the credit card number I used to make the reservation
What would happen if I don't pay the fine? Is the rental company (Avis) going to charge me? Will they send me a bill in 10 years asking me for payment and interests? posted by kewlio at 11:17 AM PST - 13 comments

Recently I read an article about narrow-band sound and the attempt to develop it. For example, a siren from an ambulance on the street would clear the streets, but wouldn't wake people in their homes because they wouldn't hear it. I can't find the article and Google's no help. I'm tempted to say I read it on one of Marshall Brain's sites, but searching there was fruitless as well. Can someone find it? posted by IndigoRain at 10:44 AM PST - 6 comments

I'm wondering if there's a relatively easy way to play a live music stream off iTunes (KCRW) on my "real" stereo. I've got an iBook g4 and an Airport. Is there a way to wirelessly send that signal somehow into my stereo, so I can carry my laptop around to different locations but having the iTunes stream function like a regular FM signal on my stereo...
any ideas? posted by dearleader at 10:25 AM PST - 9 comments

My best friend is having a civil marriage ceremony and then going to Paris for two weeks with her husband and family (parents, etc.) to celebrate. What is something thoughtful that I could give them for the Paris trip, preferably something they could use in Paris but that I could buy or arrange here over the phone or by email? [more inside]posted by onlyconnect at 8:56 AM PST - 10 comments

I need to share a calendar between four people. Trouble is, two of them are on Macs (using iCal) and two of them are using Outlook on PCs. I know there are systems like OfficeCalendar that do away with needing an Exchange server, and GroupCal that allows a Mac to connect to an Exchange server. But is there a way to get all these platforms working in tandem? Bonus points if there is a web-based version of the calendar too. posted by skylar at 7:49 AM PST - 2 comments

Can anyone recommend a temping/job agency in London? Also, any advice on how to approach finding a job when you're a new graduate with zero work experience (and a crummy degree) would be gratefully received. [more inside]posted by cillit bang at 7:37 AM PST - 13 comments

My wife and I are building a collage of movie poster details for our theater, but I'm having problems coming up with a good way to mount them. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it will work. [more inside]posted by bjork24 at 7:37 AM PST - 6 comments

I just found out the building I live in is in the process of being sold. Are the new owners legally bound to the lease I signed when I moved in? What kind of protection is there for current tenants in this situation? Any advice from others who have been in this situation would be appreciated. posted by a22lamia at 7:18 AM PST - 12 comments

Sports bras for the busty: any suggestions for keeping larger breasts in place while running? Regular, buy-at-the-department-store sports bras don't seem to be supportive enough for size D. I've seen Enell suggested - any experiences with that brand? Any others I should check out? posted by bibbit at 6:46 AM PST - 22 comments

I have enabled X-Mouse mode in TweakUI with "Autoraise when activating" disabled, but Microsoft apps (Visual Studio .NET, Office 2003, etc.) annoyingly still autoraise when activated my the mouse. Is there any way to prevent or disable this behavior? posted by arathorn at 6:33 AM PST - 6 comments

Anyone know of a way to backup/restore the $Secure metadata file in NTFS?
Preferably something that wouldn't require a full backup/restore of the entire file system? posted by yeoz at 5:09 AM PST - 4 comments

I am looking for songs with a psychiatric illness theme. 2 songs come immediately to mind, both by Simon and Garfunkel. One is Richard Cory dealing with a suicide by a probable manic-depressive .The other is A Most Peculiar Man which describes the suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning of a schizophrenic patient. i know it is rather morbid but I would appreciate hearing of other songs of the same ilk. posted by kryptos at 4:41 AM PST - 73 comments

Why shouldn't I spray pantyhose on my face? I bought these spray-on pantyhose and sprayed them on my legs. I liked it so much I tried it on my face. Looked great there too. Is there any reason I shouldn't be doing this? [more inside]posted by duck at 8:59 PM PST - 21 comments

My wife's computer died (autopsy pending). I took her hard drive out, put it in an Adaptec external enclosure, and hooked it to my machine via USB. It runs fine and I can see the directory tree, but it won't let me access the important stuff under her profile in Documents and Settings -- just says "Access Denied." Is there any way around this? [more inside]posted by words1 at 8:58 PM PST - 11 comments

I build websites. One of them runs very, very slowly, but only on the client's server. I'm pretty sure it's because their server needs more memory. But I'm a mediocre sysadmin, and I want to be absolutely certain I know what I'm talking about before I blame the hardware for what could be a problem with my software. Help reassure me that I'm not insane. [more inside]posted by ook at 3:20 PM PST - 14 comments

ResumeFilter: Applying to a Fortune 500 company. How do I show the last two years of freelance experience without coming off as a maverick? [MI] [more inside]posted by parma at 3:05 PM PST - 10 comments

RadioFilter: A friend told me she heard a segment on country music's popularity in Ethiopia on WNYC (820 AM, public radio in New York) this morning. Despite searching the websites of every show they aired, I cannot find audio or any mention of the segment. Did anyone else catch this, and if so, can you help me find it? posted by realcountrymusic at 2:41 PM PST - 4 comments

How do people make websites do this fancy trick? The site sells something downloadable. You pay, then you get an automated email containing a link to download the same item or items you bought. posted by leapingsheep at 1:52 PM PST - 9 comments

I'm thinking about buying a new iMac G5, and I'd like to bump the RAM up to 1GB from the standard 512MB. The Apple customization menu gives you the option of getting 1GB in two DIMMs or one; the latter is $50 more expensive. Is there any performance benefit in having all the RAM in one place, or is it just a question of keeping a slot open? posted by logovisual at 12:47 PM PST - 14 comments

The recent question about quality science fiction has led to an ongoing debate with some friends. How does one measure Quality or Beauty in art? For example, what makes one painting better than another painting? Are evaluations of this sort purely subjective? Somehow the argument that there are no objective standards for Beauty — that the Quality of art is purely a matter of personal preference — seems dangerous to me. (If one cannot measure Quality in art, then how can one measure Quality in science or law or any other field?) posted by jdroth at 12:02 PM PST - 23 comments

Does anybody know where I can find that famous mpeg of the guy who gets angry, stands up from his desk, and shoves the monitor onto the floor. Sorry about this one, but my Google-Fu has lost it's chi or something. posted by stovenator at 11:59 AM PST - 2 comments

At the end of next week, I will be embarking on a move from the New York City area to San Jose, California. I have this brilliant (or slightly overzealous) idea to "geophotopodcast" my way across the country using a combination of different technologies, so my friends back home can keep up with my adventures. What suggestions can you offer me for making my high-tech travelog cooler / easier to execute? [more inside]posted by superboy422 at 11:39 AM PST - 2 comments

I'm a recent college graduate who is taking a few years off to work before going to grad school. Since I'm taking a few years off how should I handle the need to have academic letters of recommendation when I do apply? [more inside]posted by mhaw at 11:27 AM PST - 13 comments

Anyone know of a good free, easy to use, diagramming application that would allow me and my colleagues to brainstorm ideas similar to using post-its on a bulletin board? Related: Experience with affinity diagram techniques? [more inside]posted by xammerboy at 8:46 AM PST - 14 comments

My not-for-profit theatre company (run by me and grumblebee) wants to start producing audio dramas and releasing them as podcasts (and maybe on CDs). We have a limited budget (under $1000). What recording equipment should we buy for good quality sound? [more inside]posted by Evangeline at 8:31 AM PST - 24 comments

I'm looking for a home closer to my work, and I'm trying to be systematic about it. My plan is to scrape online real estate databases and put them into a spreadsheet, then start ranking and comparing. [more inside]posted by craniac at 8:11 AM PST - 8 comments

Can anyone recommend a good programmer's editor for MVC? Specifically, I'm looking for something that will let me choose a class, and automatically open up the three corresponding model, view, and controller source files, so I don't have to go looking for them. [more inside]posted by Caviar at 7:59 AM PST - 10 comments

Right, it's peak travel season here in the UK. Any recommendations for the best way to get from London to Houston for 4 people for a week at the end of July/beginning of August? posted by Mossy at 4:44 AM PST - 4 comments

I have just started to be attracted to a friend I never had feelings for before, in an insidious and subconscious way. But my girlfriend and I are living together, and she's pushing hard for marriage. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 3:35 AM PST - 23 comments

MacFilter: Where did all the space go? I was using my Powerbook (OS 10.4.1) last night and at last glance it had 4.5GB of space left. After working on iPhoto and Firefox, both of which hung for minutes during operation and while quitting, I got a message saying I was running out of disk space. It turned out I only had 200MB left. After rebooting, the space went up to 1.1GB. Is there any way I can find out where the space went and get it back? [more inside]posted by adrianhon at 1:18 AM PST - 7 comments

Casting a wide net filter regarding border collies: I have a 3.5 month old purebred border collie puppy and am soliciting answers and advice regarding her training. She starts training this Thursday and I've consulted my vet and breeder, as well as Google, but would appreciate any advice here also. [more inside]posted by MarvinTheCat at 9:37 PM PST - 5 comments

I'm looking for a productivity-tracking software (freeware) that does the very simplest task of logging the applications I'm using, and its usage duration. At the end of the day it will help me to identify the time I spent mucking around on the web, and actual work productivity. [more inside]posted by arrowhead at 9:05 PM PST - 5 comments

I own a printing company and someone has offered to give me a Heidelberg letterpress. I want to find information on letterpress work. I want to find a newer way to make the dyes that stamp the paper. And I would like to figure a way to turn it into a foil stamping machine...any ideas posted by aisleofview at 9:00 PM PST - 6 comments

I have a laptop that can connect wirelessly to a wireless network at my parent's home. Is there any way to share that connection via ethernet with my desktop computer? [more inside]posted by ontic at 5:44 PM PST - 5 comments

I share an office with a co-worker and over the past few months she's been sitting at her computer and falling asleep during the day, mainly in the afternoon. [more inside]posted by anonymous at 2:31 PM PST - 74 comments

I currently have a very low level of SQL knowledge (I can construct simple queries for multiple tables, but I start to fall apart on the difference between inner and outer joins).
I need to learn to create multiple join SQL queries and Dynamic SQL/Stored Procedures on MS SQL Server 2000 in a short period of time. I'd also like to learn to use MS Query Analyzer more efficiently. Is there one book or online resource that is best for this?
Additionally, are there alternatives to using MS Query Analyzer, or is that really *the* tool? [more inside]posted by de void at 1:58 PM PST - 12 comments

How to report unwanted e-mail to sender's ISP?
I've asked not to be sent any more emails but sender continues--just to annoy me. Besides reporting to the FTC, how can I report it, should I report it to the senders ISP? posted by NorthCoastCafe at 1:47 PM PST - 9 comments

What are the biggest differences between other developed countries and the United States in terms of their immigration policies? If I remember right, the US lets in about 1 million people or so a year (legally), most through family reunificiation, some through a lottery,business opportunities, refugee programs or other means.
Ive often wondered how other developed countries, such as those in the EU or Australia handle their immigration policies - more or less open?
Ive never been able to find a solid nonideological guide to different countries policies, so some pointers would be great! posted by jare2003 at 12:09 PM PST - 12 comments

Freelancers in Illinois who have health insurance: what plan do you have? What others did you look at? Why did you pick the one you did? How much? Etc. [more inside]posted by goatdog at 11:22 AM PST - 1 comment

I’m tasked with finding an appropriate Document Imaging/Management solution for my company. We’re an engineering/environmental consulting firm with several offices, amounting to about 300 users. The ones I’ve looked at so far are Questsys ,Docstar ,Laserfiche and, (the really cheap solution) PaperPort .
Does anyone have any experience with these solutions, or can you recommend another solution that you have implemented? posted by gnz2001 at 10:15 AM PST - 5 comments

I looked at an apartment that seems really great (big, cheap, etc) except for a particular and not quite pleasant bouquet varying in strength and odor from mothballs to 'old house', to just plain stale. Should I be worried? How worried? [more inside]posted by ThePants at 10:07 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm looking for some really hip websites, magazines or podcasts that comment and report on arts, entertainment, culture and a little (just a little!) on politics. I already read Salon.com, Slate Magazine and Rolling Stone, but I need more. Any ideas? posted by JPowers at 9:52 AM PST - 11 comments

I'm looking for an article I once read that described the best way to develop a new software product within a company that must continue to build/support its legacy applications. [more inside]posted by dhacker at 8:48 AM PST - 1 comment

Wandering a cemetery, I came across this gravestone. "Anthony, beloved wife of Henry"? I'm pretty sure there wasn't a lot of gay marriage up in northern Ontario during the late 19th Century, but I've never heard of Anthony being a woman's name... what gives? posted by Robot Johnny at 8:46 AM PST - 17 comments

I want to take some photos of locals around Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). I have two questions: One, is there anything I should know about taking pictures of people like this? I want to be as uninvasive and polite as possible, but I don't want to be a big dumb American screaming "HAY GUYS CAN I TAKE YOUR PHOTO?!" and acting like they're animals in a zoo. Two is a technical question about my Canon Powershot A35... [more inside]posted by borkingchikapa at 8:30 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm looking to buy a new and hopefully not too expensive weight scale. Tanita seems to be the cool brand, but is body fat monitoring worth the extra dollars? I'm not finding much authoritative info on how accurate it is or even how it works so I'm skeptical. Explanations or scale recommendations appreciated. posted by frenetic at 8:11 AM PST - 9 comments

Please help me find a toy of sorts from the 70s. I think it was called CarTalk -- a handheld flip sign that provided hours of fun while driving the interstates on summer vacations. As I recall, it was an oval-shaped paddle with messages on a spiral binder like: "Hello" and "I think you're cute," as well as some other goofy inspirations for fellow highway travelers. Let me know if you have more information or if you know where to get one. posted by swamperro at 8:06 AM PST - 9 comments

I'm planning a move in late November, from Boston to San Francisco. At the moment, it's looking like I'm going to arrive there and THEN begin my job search. 1. Am I completely nuts? 2. What can I do to help my odds of landing a job quickly? [more inside]posted by autojack at 8:04 AM PST - 10 comments

I am in the process of creating a survey form for a website and wanted to know what would be the most effective method of gathering responses online? [more inside]posted by Blue Buddha at 7:38 AM PST - 3 comments

UltimateRoadTripFilter. In 2 weeks, I'm driving across the country from Harrisburg, PA to Newport Beach, CA. My best friend is coming along and he's never seen anything west of Ohio. We've got 7 full days to complete the trip. What's not to miss? [more inside]posted by paulychamp at 7:22 AM PST - 13 comments

What's the best cell phone I can buy right now in the United States that will sync with a Mac? I have some specific wants and am totally perplexed by the world of cell phones. [more inside]posted by josh at 6:52 AM PST - 16 comments

Name that jingle. No lyrics. I don't even know on what commercials it can be heard. It's failry old, but not that obscure. I've googled and used melody search engines but had no luck. Here's how the basic melody goes... [more inside]posted by lyam at 6:33 AM PST - 11 comments

I need to get away from it all. From my job, from my friends, from the world I call my own. I think I need a week of uninterrupted me time. I usually take awesome vacations with friends, but end up returning home completely exhausted. Where can I go to completely chill, rejuvenate my mind and body, and return to my life refreshed. I will fly anywhere in the world, but would prefer not to spend too much money. Suggestions like The Golden Door Spa may be a little out of my price range...... posted by jasondigitized at 6:20 AM PST - 27 comments

whenever I restart my Mac G5 (10.4.x), my hard drive icons (two external, the main hard drive, and a secondary internal) are moved to the upper right hand side of my screen, and usually partially obscured by the Dock (which I pin on the right side.) I hate this. All the other icons on the desktop (folders, aliases, etc.) never move after a restart (or re-launch of the Finder), just the drive icons. Is there any way to avoid this? posted by thewiseacre at 6:08 AM PST - 4 comments

Let's say I wanted to create a simple web app to store my various usernames and passwords. The app and database would be hosted externally (by Dreamhost). I would use a secure connection for any HTTP stuff going back and forth, and I would encrypt all of the passwords before going into the db, and I can only extract and decrypt a password after entering a pass phrase that exists only in my brain. What would it take for someone else to get at my passwords? [more inside]posted by patgas at 5:55 AM PST - 9 comments

Anyone watched the Sebrenica commemoration in Bosnia yesterday? I'd love to find a CD/mp3 of the moving song the little girl in red was singing and the chorus in white. I don't speak the language, and I'm having a lot of trouble finding the /name/ of the song, let alone a recording of it..
Please help! posted by ruelle at 4:56 AM PST - 9 comments

Another "name that obscure song without audio assistance" question: I would love to have a song identified that I heard twice in the gym last year. [more inside]posted by nobodyyouknow at 12:50 AM PST - 9 comments

A friend in college is very anxious to get a loan for around $5-6000. Neither of us knows anything about credit cards, so I'm asking for some advice on her behalf.
(*and yeah, this question seems pretty basic, so sorry if I missed it being asked already) [more inside]posted by jsbww at 12:47 AM PST - 14 comments

NameThatRussianFolkTuneFilter: a friend into shortwave radio picked up this song over the airwaves, recorded it to tape for posterity, and has been transfixed since -- but doesn't know what it is or who's singing. It's a long-shot, but can someone ID this? posted by I EAT TAPAS at 9:07 PM PST - 9 comments

I've been actively trying to create shirts of the quality seen here. While I'm less concerned with the technical aspects of creating a vintage/fatigued looked -- how does one go through the initial stages of design? (What program is best to design in, how should I approach the silkscreener, fabric acquisition...) [more inside]posted by geoff. at 9:01 PM PST - 6 comments

BugFilter: What is this bug? It was crawling around outside my apartment here in Austin and actually walked toward me whenever I would move, which creeped me the eff out. It's about two inches long and... just check out the photo. It was a slow and deliberate mover. I have to know what it is, and if I should keep a weapon nearby in case it comes back. posted by letterneversent at 5:13 PM PST - 6 comments

How can I add rss feeds like my Audioscrobbler feed, or my delicious feed into my website and make it so its instantly updated on a refresh? I'm currently using http://bigbold.com/rssdigest/, but I want things like my current playlist to update live. Please try to provide a simple or step by step answer as my rss wis a little slow. posted by Mroz at 4:56 PM PST - 6 comments

ok, so I while back you guys advice and buying a wedding ring. So I got this awesome cool handcarved wedding ring from an antique store. It is 18K gold band with a handcarved design of laurel and berries....but I only got one. So how do I go about getting a duplicate made (larger) that would fit me? I have talked to jewelers and the are very vague. I live in SE MI area. posted by cdcello at 3:54 PM PST - 4 comments

I'd like to make a map of my five acres but I have no surveying skills. Any simple guide to, or ideas about, amateur surveying on the cheap? [more inside]posted by argybarg at 3:51 PM PST - 15 comments

need recommendations on mac's and tivo's home media. i'm trying to decide how to rout all my good music into my home stereo. seems i could do one of two things: send playlists etc through tivo home media or use the airport express to the stereo hub. our main router is actually a linksyss because we have a PC as well as a mac now so i guess i would have to get airport express for the stereo. my computer will all of my pictures and music is a new imac g5 and i think it already has a wireless hub installed/bluetooth (the whole nine yards!) what is the best way/easiest way/most reliable way to get music shifted into my stereo.
ps. the stereo is very far from the computer itself and cant be directly connected.
i've searched the archives on this question to no avail.
thanks,
dave posted by dstrouse91 at 3:09 PM PST - 5 comments

I'm in search of an electronic discussion board that meets a couple criteria. The idea is to create a neutral space where members of a group I belong to can post about a very contentious labor issue. They've made two requests: 1) members should have the option of posting anonymously or not, and 2) the forum should be available to members only (password protected). [more inside]posted by miriam at 2:34 PM PST - 5 comments

I have a diamond appraised at around $200 from a jeweler - and of course a pawn shop doesn't give a fair deal. How/where do you sell a diamond? I'm in Chicago if that helps. posted by agregoli at 11:32 AM PST - 4 comments

Some time in the mid-late '80s I came across a primitive art program for the Commodore 64. It worked by remapping standard ASCII characters to two frame animations and textures. You could use the arrow keys to navigate around the screen and draw with the remapped characters, creating pictures that sort of implied stuff like "flowing creek" or "leaves rustling on a tree." Does anyone remember this program and what it was called? Thanks! posted by mph at 10:34 AM PST - 0 comments

In 2001 I snapped an achilles tendon whilst playing squash. Result: a repair op, 10 weeks in plaster, a lot of physio and giving up the game I'd played and loved for over twenty years. Now I'm pining for it like a maniac. Does anyone have any experience of returning to the game (or a similarly joint-thrashing one) after this injury? It should be noted that I'm 46 years old. Still reasonably fit but obviously no spring chicken. [more inside]posted by Decani at 9:39 AM PST - 6 comments

Needed: "Romantic songs of the 1930s/40s/50s that are very easy to play on guitar". My brother has asked me to sing "something" at his mostly secular wedding on August 13. No piano available, *maybe* a guitar player of unknown skill level. He seems to want something romantic and 1930s-50s American pop. He's mentioned "It's Only a Paper Moon" with enthusiasm, but I'm not sure that would be easy enough to play on guitar. [more inside]posted by amtho at 9:34 AM PST - 12 comments

I'm enjoying watching the Tour de France once again this year. I'm always amazed at the amount of vehicles, fans, support people and logistics involved in running this race every year. Has there ever been a documentary about the behind the scenes part of the race? I get little bits and pieces during the coverage, but I'd love to see more! posted by mhm at 9:30 AM PST - 6 comments

BikeFilter: I live in a small but bustling city outside of a much larger one. For minor errands, I prefer biking over driving (when possible). So why do I have to bike on the road instead of on the sidewalk (it's a ticketable offense here)? [more inside]posted by Sinner at 8:08 AM PST - 92 comments

FreckleFilter: Just curious, really - I am a fair English lass, and therefore after a day in the sun I notice lots of freckles on my shoulders that have presumably appeared during the day. I am always amazed that they appear so quickly. My question is, if I constantly looked at my shoulders, would I see them popping up or do they appear gradually? And why little patches of pigment like that, anyway? posted by altolinguistic at 8:08 AM PST - 9 comments

ACK! I accidentally deleted a picture from my digital camera's memory card! The cam is newish and I'm not quite used to it yet; I mis-pressed a button while reviewing, and now I've lost an important, once-in-a-lifetime shot. Is there a way, ANY way for me to recover the accidentally deleted photo? Please please please tell me it's not impossible. Or at least tell me why it is. *tears hair out* posted by furious blush at 7:18 AM PST - 13 comments

I've heard stories before about how the first automobiles did not have their own steering, and were meant to be driven on rails. But I've not been able to find any corroborating evidence. Is this just an urban myth, or has anyone heard of this as well? posted by jgballard at 7:04 AM PST - 6 comments

Like others I will be the DIY DJ at my upcoming wedding. I have everything covered but the background music played while the meal is served. Suggestions? [more inside]posted by herc at 2:11 AM PST - 19 comments

Add me to the growing list of people planning to make the switch to a Mac. To those that have made the jump, how hard was it? And is it a losing proposition to buy now, with Intel-based machines coming around the bend? I know this is an AskMeFi FAQ, but I have some specific questions. [more inside]posted by pzarquon at 2:01 AM PST - 17 comments

I want to go see U2 in Los Angeles. Just decided that, damn the torpedoes, I can't miss it. What's the best way to go about acquiring tickets without getting scammed or gouged? [more inside]posted by incessant at 1:23 AM PST - 3 comments

What non-standard texts would you recommend for a community reading group on Existentialism? I am hoping to volunteer as a coordinator of a discussion group on Existentialism, part of a program in the humanities for people without higher education. I would like to hear your suggestions for readings, aside from the obvious canon of excerpts from Kierkegaard, Sartre, Pascal, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Jaspers &co. The readings should not be too technical, be literature or philosophy, and ideally 50 pages or less. They don't even have to represent "Existentialism" proper (whatever that is!); anything that explores themes of subjectivity is welcome. posted by ori at 12:21 AM PST - 21 comments

I have a question for those who were teenagers in the 1980's, I'm doing a presentation with a group and my part is generational persona of teens relating to safety (how safe did the avg teen feel?), reckless behavior (how did teens rebel, or get into trouble?) and individualism (Did teens clump themselves into cliques and groups, or did they feel the need to succumb to a particular 'look'was it accepted to be unique and individualistic?) [more inside]posted by bluehermit at 12:18 AM PST - 29 comments

12 days ago I had pelvic surgery which involved a 9 cm (~3.5 inch) horizontal lower abdominal incision. The stitches were removed 6 days after the operation and the surgeon said at the time that the wound looked fine. Since some time after that appointment, when I touch the area within 1 cm of the wound I can feel fairly firm nodular areas under the skin. To anyone who has had a similar experience following surgery or knows about it, is this normal or a complication? Did it go away without treatment? Did it cause further problems? [more inside]posted by teem at 12:07 AM PST - 11 comments

When I finish up my econ degree next spring, I was looking at a job with a Fed Reserve Branch in Florida (I'm in Orlando), which necessitates either Jacksonville or Miami. I'm looking mostly for information on living in Miami (I have a bunch of information on Jacksonville). I'm mainly interested in information about the city, price of living, etc. in web or book format, and I'm also interested in people's comments about living in either place. [more inside]posted by Drylnn at 12:00 AM PST - 2 comments

I've read all of the posts concerning selection and implementation of content management systems here on Ask Me, and found them quite helpful. Now I have a few clarifying questions. First, a little background... [more inside]posted by alas at 9:21 PM PST - 8 comments

When several tankers with the words "non-potable water" fill up at a fire hydrant, where are they going? What is it being used for? Are they buying the undrinkable water directly from the city? posted by Satapher at 9:05 PM PST - 15 comments

With the price of a gallon of gas now approaching/exceeding $ 2.50 , is the urban legend that it's cheaper to keep it running and that the car uses more gas in start-up than in running a few minutes at the drive through bank teller, railroad crossing, etc. , still accurate ( was it ever? ) I realize there are other mileage factors in the equation , but at some price point the theory must fail. posted by Agamenticus at 7:22 PM PST - 18 comments

I am looking for old cartoon images or animation footage of characters "digging a hole to china"? Year made, studio, and episode titles would be great but any info will help. posted by iwouldificould at 6:21 PM PST - 8 comments

What do you use to open Velux or other roof windows?
So we have 3 velux type roof windows in our new house - all of which are out of arms reach, including one which is over the stairs so we can't easily use a ladder to reach it either. Any suggestions for what to use to open them apart from the official velux opening rod which is 25 quid. We tried a walking stick which is fine for a bit until the head broke off!!
Anyway I look forward to your ingenious answers. posted by empedia at 4:15 PM PST - 5 comments

Dallas Restaurants: Can anyone recommend a great, moderately priced romantic restaurant in Dallas? I've read through Dallas Citysearch (romantic restaurants are actually featured on the front page right now), but any personal recommendations would be much appreciated! posted by roundrock at 3:44 PM PST - 7 comments

It's printer time! Yaaay! *fanfare* *cows explode* I have an "All in One" or "Multifunction" printer. This means it can fax, scan, copy, and print in color. I can't say I use it a lot, but when I have needed it the most, the fax, scan, and copy pieces have been wonderful to have. So I want to buy another one. Problem is, HP, Canon, Epson, Brother, Lexmark, Dell, and the rest all use different benchmarks. Any AiO fans out there? [more inside]posted by cavalier at 12:56 PM PST - 8 comments

Why is it that if I walk up and stick my finger in a wall outlet, I'll get shocked even though I'm not grounded? I can see getting shocked when standing barefoot on wet ground, but come on... on a floor wearing tennis shoes? How does that work? posted by rolypolyman at 12:39 PM PST - 20 comments

My client uses AOL for mail, which I have to sift through, and forward to various places. I want to set up scripts to automate some of it. Is there a good mail client for Macintosh capable of dealing with AOL mail, through IMAP, to let me set up clever filters for it? [more inside]posted by inksyndicate at 10:59 AM PST - 6 comments

I'm on a G5 running Tiger, referring to a user account lacking admin privileges, with a backup strategy of dragging my User folder to an external hard drive once a week. Since upgrading to Tiger, though, I've been informed that "You may need to enter the name and password for an administrator on this computer to change the item named 'Library'." I've duplicated this on another computer.
What's going on here? First, I'm only copying the Library, not changing it, and second, why do I need an administrator password? This is my User library, I thought that it and everything else within my User folder was by definition owned by me, and that even if I did want to modify something in the Library I wouldn't need a admin password. posted by boombot at 8:32 PM PST - 23 comments

I need a song for a specific lonely situation. In my student film, a male college student reads the blog of a fellow male student, forming a creepy one-sided relationship bordering on cyberstalking. But the tone is lonely, not predatory, and the imagined relationship is platonic. Thus, in soundtracking, I need a lonely song that isn't slit-your-wrist, girl-hates-boy, or we-used-to-be-friends. I prefer sparse sounds (Devendra Banhart, Tom Waits), male or female voices. I have enough instrumental pieces; I just need a killer lyrical song to top it all off. posted by NickDouglas at 5:36 PM PST - 51 comments

I'm going to Belgium (Gent area) in a while and I'm interested in really exploring european music (electronica/dance espescially). I'll be there for the last 5 days of De Gentse Feesten. I'd like reccomendations for live acts to see (electronica or not) and places to pick up vinyl that would be unavailable/expensive stateside (dance music in particular) in Gent. posted by phrontist at 3:10 PM PST - 3 comments

I recently discovered Podcasts (well I knew of them, but never listened to any). Can anyone recommend any good, intelligent comedy Podcasts to make me smile instead of cry when I'm stuck at my desk all day? [more inside]posted by lemonfridge at 10:30 AM PST - 9 comments

[DeadComputerFilter] I just moved, and as is customary, my PC moved in a separate trip, re-boxed in its original container, and generally cared for better than even myself. Now, I plug it in, turn it on... well, almost. It just doesn't come on anymore. [more inside]posted by ChrisR at 10:10 AM PST - 6 comments

My wife and I saw our doctor yesterday; he said we were both basically in good shape but he highly recommended we try rhodiola, touted in this book. He says the book is overwritten but he's checked out the claims and thinks they're substantiated enough to recommend using it; I like the fact that he prefers diet/lifestyle changes to prescription drugs unless the latter are clearly indicated, but I wanted to see if any MeFites knew anything about rhodiola, which I'd never heard of. posted by languagehat at 9:53 AM PST - 18 comments

Okay, so everyone loves DaShiv's photographs of SF Meetups, and for good reason. They are incredible. I can take decent photos, but they're obviously amateurish. Here's my question: How do I take it to the next level? How can I get the colors to look as brilliant as DaShiv's, for instance (just an example; I'm sure that there are many other styles of photography that I am not aware of)? What equipment do I need? What software do I need? What type of training is required? BTW, I run a Mac and have a little cash to burn. Thanks in advance. posted by SeizeTheDay at 6:30 AM PST - 26 comments

So it looks like it's going to be Maui, for about 10 days in early January. woot! Advice on lodging would be spectaculariffic. We'd like to split our time roughly evenly between the beaches and the mountains, with the goal of avoiding children and tourist traps. [more inside]posted by Saucy Intruder at 5:43 AM PST - 9 comments

I just found out that my best friend is 6 weeks pregnant. I was hoping to get both traditional and unique gift ideas. All I've come up with is flowers but I want to do something special for her. Any ideas? posted by camfys at 5:02 AM PST - 22 comments

How would I get a good approximation of a portfolio return on an investment account which has regular incoming and outgoing cash-flows, so that I can compare it to mutual fund and stock index performance? [more inside]posted by Big Fat Tycoon at 5:19 PM PST - 8 comments

I have two cats (brother and sister from the same litter 8 years ago) and one baby. The cats have never messed with each other beyond play fighting every so often and chasing each other for kicks. But recently, we noticed a horrible new behavior: when the baby cries at full tilt (only once every 3-4 days), the male cat gets up and goes after the female and tries to mount her, in an almost automatic, robot-like response.
I have some ideas of why, but I can't find any tips on what to do to stop it. [more inside]posted by mathowie at 2:34 PM PST - 29 comments

Givin' Back To The Community Filter: I'm working on starting a non-profit, donation based, free computers for low income families and community organizations in the immediate vicinity of Missoula, MT. How do I get started? [more inside]posted by rabble at 12:27 PM PST - 12 comments

My 87 year old grandmother is in the midst of decline suffering from Alzheimer's and now believes she needs to go to work each day. She lives across the street from my folks, but has taken to 'escaping' and wandering all around town.
Has anybody heard of/seen/used any type of "Grandma LoJack" device to track her down, or better yet, send out an alarm when she gets too far from a base unit in the house? (I.e. if she walks more than 50 yards from the kitchen or something an alarm would go off at my folks house or it would make a phone call.)
She's got an ID bracelet now with an 800 number on it, but that's only good when/if they find her. posted by GernBlandston at 11:46 AM PST - 14 comments

Myth or truth?: You burn as many calories playing a major theatrical role (i.e. "Hamlet") as you do running a marathon. And how DO you calculate calories, anyway? [more inside]posted by grumblebee at 11:18 AM PST - 20 comments

What's the best way to sell used literary fiction books in one go in Los Angeles? I have ten cubic feet of used paperbacks ("word value only," as they say) that I'd like to dispense with, but with a minimal time investment. Any ideas? Some used bookstores are flat out not buying new books or offering trade credit only, and before I call every place in a twenty-mile radius, I thought MeFites out there in LA or elsewhere may have already tred the path. Is there something like WeBuyComics.com for books? My Google-fu turns up mostly pages about textbooks and rare books. posted by symbebekos at 10:40 AM PST - 14 comments

It's been many years since I've bought any home audio equipment and I'm now thinking of buying a new set of audio components for my home livingroom.
So here's my question - I no longer use CD's, as all of my music is digital. I listen to internet radio all the time on my computer. I have an iPod.
It seems that most of the audio components in Best Buy are still rooted in the past. What would you suggest I buy to create the "home stereo the future" that would leverage all of the new technologies that have come out in the past couple of years.
What should my home audio set up look like?
Any and all suggestions would be welcomed!
Thanks,
Marc posted by marcschil at 10:01 AM PST - 21 comments

How do I cool my pool? It's 112 degrees outside these days and my pool temperature is getting up to 86 degrees, which is bathwater nasty. How can I cool the water down? I have an Airator but I don't know how well it will work. I could add 10 pound ice blocks but how many ice blocks do I have to add to bring down the temperature? Any other suggestions? posted by propagandist at 8:44 AM PST - 23 comments

I'm creating a book for a nephew's upcoming 5th birthday. I want to use photos I have of him and his family as the illustrations, altered in Photoshop to look more like illustrations (like a normal kids' book) than photos, but I'm not so good with the filters... [more inside]posted by donnagirl at 8:26 AM PST - 7 comments

iPodfilter: Is there a voice recorder for iPod mini? Googling seems to denote that there's no firmware support for any recorder on iPod mini.. but I want to conduct interviews with the little silver bugger! Please help! posted by By The Grace of God at 8:26 AM PST - 6 comments

FlashFilter: I would like to lay a flash movie _over_ a web page and have web content show through the movie (in defined areas). Is there a way to specify an alpha channel (or other masking option) for a flash file? I'm certain there is, but my flash programmer is a neophyte and doesn't believe me. posted by silusGROK at 7:54 AM PST - 4 comments

One month from today I will be leaving the US to study abroad in Denmark. My SO of 4+ years will not be coming with me. How can we make the five-month separation easier? [more inside]posted by Crushinator at 7:15 AM PST - 15 comments

Rock & Roll - I need to make a mix tape CD of Rock & Roll tunes that pay tribute to and/or glorify Rock & Roll... something I believe no other genre does with quite the same fervor and dedication. Do you have any suggestions? [more inside]posted by Necker at 5:42 AM PST - 53 comments

I was crushed to hear the Iron & Wine version of Such Great Heights played over an M&Ms commercial last night. Who's getting paid, and how much? [more inside]posted by OmieWise at 5:37 AM PST - 16 comments

I'm looking to buy an original drawing/painting for my S.O. for an upcoming anniversary. My budget is small ($50ish) and I'm not looking for anything abstract or capital-A art... [more inside]posted by anonymous at 12:40 AM PST - 17 comments

Does anyone know of an international news service that sends a short plain-text email, suitable for passing through an email2SMS gateway, only when there's a big breaking news story like the London bombings? [more inside]posted by krisjohn at 12:10 AM PST - 5 comments

Looking for good ways to clean out a PC storage before donating. I have some old PCs that I would rather donate than trashing them. What are good procedures and tools to use to clean out disks? Should I leave the OS on ? There may be questionable and personal content lurking around that I would prefer to wipe out. etc. etc. posted by flyby22 at 10:39 PM PST - 6 comments

My boyfriend and I live in a flat built in the '20s. We have reason to suspect that the outlets provide inconsistent amount of electrical current. Is there something we need to get for our computers to protect them? [more inside]posted by FortyT-wo at 10:24 PM PST - 16 comments

For the past few days, I've been taking some penicillin (500 MG) to treat a sinus infection. While it's not doing much for the infection, it's done wonders for my complexion--My face is probably the best it's looked, ever.
What I'm wondering is if I could continue to take penicillin (perhaps in a lower dosage) while also taking a pro-biotic supplement to help balance out the negative effects and remain healthy. If the answer is a flat no, might any of the topical antibiotic acne medications work as well? posted by incomple at 9:18 PM PST - 13 comments

I'm a left-handed guy who's been playing guitar, right-handed, for about 4 years. I'm thinking of going lefty and wondering what other people's experiences with the switch have been. [more inside]posted by MonkeyMeat at 8:59 PM PST - 14 comments

The best keyboard I have ever used was the one that shipped with NeXTStations. It was loud and obnoxous, but had great feedback and I felt it added about 10 WPM to my typing.
Does anyone know any details of how they were constructed / are they available in USB or PS/2 / does anyone make a close knockoff version? posted by y0mbo at 8:17 PM PST - 9 comments

If an English speaker wants to pretend to speak German (and be completely obnoxious), he might say something like "Ach Bach Ze Hooverhoffen!" Or if he wanted to mock Spanish, he might say "Ahblo babblo ahblado el babblado!" Swedish might sound like "Hurky gurky pookety borkety!". What sounds do non-English speakers use to mock English?[more inside]posted by 4easypayments at 7:56 PM PST - 21 comments

I need motivation to complete a long and arduous task with an uncertain reward, can you help me? What motivates you with such a task? (explanation inside) [more inside]posted by Idiot Mittens at 7:33 PM PST - 4 comments

My mom is interested in moving to Vancouver, BC. She would like to know about the housing market there: what are rents like? Are there a lot of rentals available? What are rentals like? Houses or apartments, yards, ect. Any information about finding a place to live there would be great! posted by slimslowslider at 6:34 PM PST - 7 comments

SurgeryFilter: Hypothetically, if someone wanted to perform relatively minor surgery on themselves, say a tonsillectomy, how would this someone go about it? Seriously. I want to know equipment, drugs, and procedure. How do you keep things sterile, stop bleeding, etc. Assume the individual in question can override the majority of his reflexes, including gagging, at will. [more inside]posted by Grod at 6:12 PM PST - 32 comments

Heading to Oakland, CA for business and will arrive on Sunday in the early afternoon. Looking for something to keep me entertained for the afternoon/evening. [more inside]posted by cyniczny at 5:40 PM PST - 11 comments

Does anyone know the make, brand, or availability of the semi-geodesic three-walled pop-up emergency shelters being used in the London tube bombing response? [more inside]posted by loquacious at 4:54 PM PST - 3 comments

Is there a resource that can:
A- Tell me the number of Americans that believe in God.
and B- Tell me what percentage consider themselves "born again." Any ideas? posted by Shanachie at 4:25 PM PST - 14 comments

I'm doing some research for work and need to find out some general information about commuter train crashes. My Google skills seem to be lacking here. Care to help? [more inside]posted by unsweet at 3:30 PM PST - 5 comments

NotSoHumbleDilettanteBlogosphereOpinionsFilter: So, at noon today, Blair called out the attacks for disrupting the G8 agenda today, namely Africa. What, if any can be speculated, effect might this have on proceedings in the G8? posted by Jongo at 3:26 PM PST - 3 comments

I'm looking for a quality computer program (or a service) to create a cross stitch pattern from a Picasso painting. I have purchased patterns from xs-collectibles.com, so I'm looking for something similar to the level of difficulty / detail. posted by madmath at 2:28 PM PST - 3 comments

Anyone familar with DSP knows about convolution, even if it's just related to it's uses for reverb. It seems like it's slowly being used for many different purposes now from reverb to effects processing. Well, one of my teachers claims to have invented the use of convolution for audio in his thesis and was approached by Yamaha (I think it was) to use it in one of their products.
I have been looking, but can't find, who discovered the audio use of convolution? What was is it's first commerical use?
I believe him, but I want to confirm it, so I won't mention his name . . . posted by klik99 at 2:27 PM PST - 8 comments

Is there a formula somewhere that will help me determine how much I should be paying for rent based on my income? I’m moving to Boston, and I think I am looking at places in the correct price range, but how can I be sure? Let’s say my partner and I make a combined income of $65K. Is there an online tool that can help me plug in my estimated monthlies and come up with the declaration: Since you are living in TownX, you should pay between Y and Z in rent. Any more, and you’re going to be setting yourself up for disaster! posted by abbyladybug at 1:47 PM PST - 13 comments

My wife and I (and kids) will be in Austin for 2 or 3 days in August (19th - 21st). What are the activities/events/places/restaurants we should be sure not to miss? [more inside]posted by Irontom at 12:50 PM PST - 15 comments

I've gotten into the habit of wrapping meat and veggies together in foil and baking the whole parcel. Delicious and very easy. But I feel guilty about using so much foil. Is there an alternative technique? I don't mind having to wash something up to avoid wastage. posted by sid at 12:33 PM PST - 16 comments

Printing a "booklet" from PDF on the cheap: I'm looking for software that will help me do 2-up on both sides of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, but I'm open to any suggestions. [more inside]posted by weston at 12:06 PM PST - 10 comments

In follow-up to this question, the president usually flies in a VH-3D helicopter (at least that's what most pictures show). But the Marine unit that flies him around also has a VH-60N, which this seems to suggest is always accompanying the VH-3D. Anyone know why? What is the VH-60N used for? Are they interchangeable? Is one just for staffers/aides? Why not use two VH-3Ds? posted by BradNelson at 11:49 AM PST - 3 comments

U.S. insurance law: I've been told that, after having group coverage through an employer, if that coverage lapses for more than three months, the next insurer can declare anything previously covered to be a pre-existing condition (and so not covered.) Is this correct? Thanks. posted by Shane at 11:32 AM PST - 15 comments

I've been trying to find a particular version of Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side". I believe it was from a movie and may have been sung by a drunk person doing karaoke. [more inside]posted by fenriq at 10:54 AM PST - 3 comments

Isn't there a name for that phenomenon wherein, once you start paying attention to something, you see it everywhere? You know, like when you buy a 1980 Toyota Celica, for example, and all of the sudden you see one on every block. posted by etc. at 10:35 AM PST - 24 comments

I have two computers, each with something like 350W power supplies. By keeping them on 24/7, am I consuming the equivalent of seven 100-watt light bulbs around the clock? What can I do (either software or hardware) to make my machines more power-efficient?
Also - while I'm on the subject - does an incandescent bulb consume less when it's on a dimmer and that dimmer is turned down? [more inside]posted by scarabic at 10:30 AM PST - 18 comments

I just started working in Washington, D.C., and I'm trying to find the names of a good doctor and dentist. Washingtonian magazine doesn't have their "Top Docs" list online, and other Google research hasn't really turned up anything. Because I don't have a car, the ideal doctor would have an office within walking distance of a Metro station. posted by jed at 10:07 AM PST - 7 comments

Brightness cycling while playing DVDs: My girlfriend has an old Panasonic VCR/TV combo. When I play DVDs on it (using my old Panasonic DVD player), the brightness (luminance) level fluctuates continually, ranging from just brighter than normal to very dark. The kicker: It only happens with some DVDs. What's going on here? [more inside]posted by Vidiot at 9:21 AM PST - 14 comments

Memoirs for my wife. Her birthday is approaching. She's a fan of memoirs (but not biographies) and loves food, travel and writing on other cultures. I've posted this question before, so titles published this year are preferred. Thanks. posted by mojohand at 8:58 AM PST - 10 comments

I'm a graduate student who has been dating a classmate for about a year and a half. She a nice girl for the most part and a mother. I should explain that she got pregnant at an early age (19) from an older man (about twice her age) and still managed to do well academically. While I realize that she is very well put together academically, emotionally she is not as mature a person as I would ideally like to be with. I recently broke up with her (or at least I thought I did), but ended up right back in her arms consoling her and attempting to stem the apparent emotional devastation this break up was causing. I have been clear about my issues and honest to no avail. What do I do to get out of this relationship? We live in the same building and function in the same atmosphere. I can live with her hating me. During the (mock) break-up she told me I was the best thing that ever happened to her and she can't let me go. I am only her second boyfriend (the first being the father of her child) and third person she's ever had sex with. She has a history of clinging. I imagine a lot of people would say sever this cold turkey, but theres no such thing for someone who clings so tightly and does not appear to have the emotional coping skills to deal with rejection. I am afraid of her hurting herself, the kid, me and so on. She has absolutely no friends outside of her sister who is a year younger, while I have many. She doesn't appear to be able to connect with anyone other than her sig. other (me) and her sister. She hates her mother, doesn't know her father that well and says she is unable to bond with her child (quote, " I don't really feel attached to the child"). This leaves me alone on an emotional island of sorts. Maybe we all need therapy. I have taken the issue of birth control into my own hands, as I am afraid if left to her we might 'accidentally' end up in babyland. A bad situation for all. Any ideas, I'm open. posted by nmorgan at 7:38 AM PST - 21 comments

What are some good ideas for a business that could be started with $25,000 in capital and run by a talented person a less-than-full-time basis? (Obviously, this person could be assisted by employee(s) if the cash flow supported them, so it doesn't have to be a less-than-full-time business.) [more inside]posted by MattD at 6:06 AM PST - 11 comments

A question for all police, medical, fire, or other emergency professionals: what rules of thumb should everybody know in case they are present at a terrorist attack or other emergency? [more inside]posted by yankeefog at 4:39 AM PST - 14 comments

July 6

Can anyone recommend a good accountant in Chicago? My boyfriend is starting a small home-based business and needs someone to help him get (and keep) everything in order. Bonus if the accountant is in Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park. posted by smich at 6:13 PM PST - 1 comment

I'm looking for the lyrics to the "Ballad of the MI Soldier." It was a joke military song about the stereotypical qualities of intelligence professionals. I had it a while back, but can't find the disc it was on. I tried googling, but it doesn't produce anything useful. posted by mystyk at 6:05 PM PST - 1 comment

Sometime in the last 2 years (I think!) there was a meme going around about a military theorist (from the 50's?) who came up with a rule set for fighter pilots. The idea was a fighter pilot was supposed to go around and around with these four(?) rules. Something like "assess / analyze / ?? / shoot" or something! Does anyone know who this is is, where I can get more info and the precise rule set? posted by wtfwjd? at 5:43 PM PST - 4 comments

Our house has a basement suite and I find myself doing one of my least favourite tasks: finding a tenant. The key things that I'm looking for are cleanliness, quietness, and a prompt payment of rent. Neither of the past two tenants we had did very well in these categories. Does anyone have any good tips for finding good tenants? [more inside]posted by kaefer at 5:17 PM PST - 14 comments

On August 1st, my wife and I will be moving to Morningside Heights in NYC so that she can attend a Columbia graduate program. I have never been to college and would like (read: need) to start with a community-type college. Any recommendations for schools in the Columbia/Morningside Heights/Upper West Side area for me to look into? [more inside]posted by anonymous at 4:39 PM PST - 9 comments

I have a linksys wireless router (WRT54GS) and broadband. I never have any connectivity issues with my desktop that is connected with cat-5. I never used to have issues with my laptop with a wireless card, but recently.... [more inside]posted by pissfactory at 4:12 PM PST - 7 comments

Help me think of a name for my DJ/Events company!
I'm starting out with primarily DJ services for now, but in the future I am planning to extend into creative event and lighting design. For this reason, I'm searching for a name that is somewhat broad to cover these secondary markets, but still relevant to any single one alone. [more inside]posted by FearTormento at 3:34 PM PST - 10 comments

two photography questions in one:
a. Does the Bronica ETRC have a double-exposure button/lever? If so, how do I use it? I know the ETRS does, but I can't seem to find one on my ETRC.
b. How can I take long time exposures on my Canon Powershot S70? I bought this because I wanted a lot of manual control, and I know it doesn't have a bulb setting, but is there a way to set really long (i.e., 60 second plus) exposures for tripod/night landscapes? posted by luriete at 3:21 PM PST - 5 comments

I'd like to ship somewhat-heavy, somewhat-awkward packages from Toronto to various U.S. addresses, and I've had no luck shipping them via the big name carriers. I know there have to be companies that specialize in door-to-door shipment of heavy packages, but I'm at a loss as to what I should be looking for. [more inside]posted by deshead at 2:25 PM PST - 7 comments

I'm trying to find some artwork that I believe was posted to the front page a while back. The best description I can give is that it was paintings of various animals (mostly bunnies and bears) in odd situations including, but not limited to self-mutilation. [more inside]posted by nTeleKy at 2:01 PM PST - 6 comments

Romantic restaurant in Winston-Salem? Anyone have suggestions - I want to treat my sister to a nice "Happy Engagement" dinner, but since I'm in Seattle, I have no idea about nice places in W-S. Good food is more important than fancy. posted by noahv at 12:39 PM PST - 3 comments

What’s the most obscure, odd, weird or just pointless sport you know about that actually has sponsors, or that people make money doing? I’m making a list. Bowling and auto racing are already on it. posted by cccorlew at 12:22 PM PST - 32 comments

Stupid and probably very simple networking question: how compatible are the 802.11g and 802.11b protocols? Can a 802.11b networking card and 802.11g router be used together harmoniously? posted by Dreama at 12:20 PM PST - 5 comments

I want to use my new Onkyo NC-500 digital audio receiver, but I don't want to run a cord. Can I use a WET11 wireless ethernet bridge with my existing Linksys WRT54G router (that connects to my XP Pro PC where my music collection is hosted) to make the whole thing work? [more inside]posted by trharlan at 11:19 AM PST - 1 comment

I really like the sound of the intro guitar on Modest Mouse's song "Worm vs. Bird." It's a sort of compressed, almost tubular sound. I am an electric guitar n00b. Is this sound somewhat replicable with a simple pedal purchase, or do I have to go buy some obscure vintage guitar and run it through a tube amp built by elves or something?
30 second snippet from the Amazon[more inside]posted by mecran01 at 10:36 AM PST - 5 comments

What is the technical reason why an iPod cannot play songs without a short gap between them, but iTunes can? (I know that iTunes achieves this effect through a brief crossfade, and the timing is actually just slightly different from how it would be on a CD, but why can't an iPod crossfade?) posted by logovisual at 9:41 AM PST - 12 comments

I have a mailing list consisting of about 6,500 addresses for the company I work for. However, there are 500 or so invalid addresses that I'd like to remove automatically. [more inside]posted by nitsuj at 9:13 AM PST - 8 comments

Languages: I would like to teach myself a foreign language with the primary motivation of reading literature written originally in that language. (Italian, in this case.) For now, speaking and pronunciation are not as important as learning grammatical rules, sentence construction, and growing my vocabulary. Ideally, I would like to learn at my own pace, without having to hire a tutor or enrol in language classes, and I would prefer to skip general phrasebook greetings. Apart from a dictionary, what should I arm myself with? Are there any good resources on the web for this? How should one go about teaching oneself to read a foreign language? Thanks! posted by Lush at 8:09 AM PST - 18 comments

At the top of someBlogger templates, a large white gap is now appearing. They say that it is being worked on, but it has been there for quite a while now and I would really like to get rid of it. Can anyone with knowledge of CSS or web design more generally suggest what might have gone wrong, as well as how to fix it? posted by sindark at 7:12 AM PST - 4 comments

I broke both hands and both wrists several years ago and can no longer make a complete fist with my left hand. Now I'm interested in taking a martial arts class. Any ideas for a discipline that wouldn't involve too much punching? I've looked online and Aikido seems to be a good bet, but I'd love to hear from anyone more knowledgeable. posted by richmondparker at 6:49 AM PST - 18 comments

My fiancee and I are going to Los Angeles for 5 days, spending a night in Carmel/Monterey, and then spending 3 nights in San Francisco. What should we do and be sure not to miss?
We're 24/25 and from outside NYC. Sports, shopping, etc are all up our alley. Thanks. posted by seinfeld at 6:23 AM PST - 34 comments

I'm looking for the best portable electronic translation solution. I 'd like a technology that is compact, for which high-quality bidirectional translation dictionaries between a range of languages already exist, and that allows expansion to new languages (hopefully an expansion that is actually going to happen). [more inside]posted by paul! at 5:27 AM PST - 2 comments

Deodorant rocks. What are they? What goes into them? Where do they come from? What's the history? Can they be made at home? Safety warnings or tips on use? Where should they be purchased from? posted by saysthis at 2:41 AM PST - 16 comments

In the nineties there were two songs: "Whoomp! There It Is" by Tag Team and "Whoot! There It Is" by 95 South. The musical hooks in both songs were too similar to be coincidence. Does anybody know why nobody sued? Who knows the story behind this? posted by Jenesta at 12:58 AM PST - 8 comments

I've switched teaching jobs to a college that uses moodle for online classes. In the past I've made up my own online classes combining html lesson plans and a bulletin board. Does anyone have any experiences with moodle they can share with me? Love it, hate it, can't live without it, waste of time? posted by puppy kuddles at 8:08 PM PST - 2 comments

Anyone know where to get basic plans to build a pet door? Specifically, I'd like plans for a door to be used in a sash window. I'm sure I can make one for less than $110, but can't find a plan online. Is there a good book that can help with this kind of thing? posted by mediareport at 7:41 PM PST - 5 comments

the statistically significant other and i are going to savannah, georgia, at the end of july. might anyone recommend a place to stay (cute, cheap) and things to do? [more inside]posted by mdpc98 at 3:52 PM PST - 7 comments

Looking for cheap art. I want to take stills from a dvd and get a poster print for hanging on the wall. Can this be done in a clean nice looking manner, without a blurry unsightly pixelated mess? [more inside]posted by striker at 2:49 PM PST - 13 comments

I have to discuss this in class tonight... can anybody give me a hand.... ?
"The freedom of the individual depends on the freedom of everyone."
"The freedom to disagree discourages censorship." posted by bamassippi at 1:58 PM PST - 25 comments

Video enthusiasts please help. I am trying to help my dad sell a used video camera. Canon L-2 hi 8 with pretty much every attachment/lens available. 2x extender, 3x zoom, 8x, 10x w/stabilizer, 15x, and 250mm super tele reflex lens. Is ebay my best bet? And is there a website that would help me determine the value of this eqipment? posted by vronsky at 1:01 PM PST - 4 comments

I have a 2.53Ghz Pentium PC (Alienware), 512 MB RAM, and want to play the latest games on it with very good quality. I have a (now lowly) Radeon 9700 Pro video card. Should I bother upgrading the video card, or wait to get a new system? [more inside]posted by robbie01 at 12:08 PM PST - 20 comments

Why does my Mac sometimes go into kernel panic when I unplug the firewire webcam? It happens on a variety of occasions: sometimes multiple apps are open and CPU usage is high, other times it's right after a fresh reboot. (iBook G3/700Mhz, 384MB RAM, Mac OS X 10.2.8, and the webcam is a Unibrain Fire-I.) posted by brownpau at 9:59 AM PST - 12 comments

Help me get a professional massage!
What is a "named range" in Excel and how do I create one? I cannot import an .xls file into her outlook contact folder until I address this issue. [more inside]posted by sourwookie at 9:27 AM PST - 6 comments

My friend just arrived from overseas on a visa after having completed medical school. He is applying to get into a residency program. Meanwhile, he wants to stay with a family here in the SE Michigan area.
Have you had good experiences/heard good things about any organizations that might be able to match him up with a family to live with for a temporary period of time? posted by parma at 9:17 AM PST - 13 comments

I have always been a bit of a privacy nut, but now I have become a landlord, and have to look at the issue from the other side. Need some help/advice from any Canadian landlords out there...... [more inside]posted by TheFeatheredMullet at 8:45 AM PST - 15 comments

I'm going to be in Chicago with some co-workers for a few days on business. None of us have ever been to Chicago. What should we do with our free time? [more inside]posted by duckstab at 8:41 AM PST - 12 comments

I'm having trouble with my mac powerbook crashing, specifically after it awakens after having gone into sleep mode. It does this when in firefox and I save a tiddlywiki page, or when I'm in word and try to save a document. I'm using OSX version 10.3.9. posted by corpse at 8:20 AM PST - 3 comments

There have been general moving advice questions, and location-specific moving advice questions, and I've got one of the latter: anyone have recommendations for good, trustworthy movers in Chicago? posted by kenko at 8:15 AM PST - 5 comments

My backyard needs help! We tilled / seeded / hayed it in mid-April but grass has only sprouted across 50% of the area. I'm big into organic lawncare, I follow most of the basic rules, but I just can't get my grass to grow. What should I do? [more inside]posted by bjork24 at 7:53 AM PST - 9 comments

Does anyone know a website where I can catch the Tour de France? Yeah, I don't have cable because I'm cheap, but times like this make me want to relent. But now, I'm desparate! posted by Red58 at 5:55 AM PST - 8 comments

My (retired) father-in-law is interested in daytrading futures from home. He's been playing with IB's TWS and has been using eSignal for a few years. Is there other software he should investigate? [more inside]posted by sohcahtoa at 5:42 AM PST - 0 comments

I have a number of Excel files with thousands of small bitmap images embedded. I need to extract these into individual files which a designer can put into Quark and match up with the original text. [more inside]posted by skarmj at 3:35 AM PST - 15 comments

How would I find out information about an LLC registered in New York State? Ideally, I'd like summaries of accounts, names of directors, etc. [more inside]posted by humuhumu at 2:52 AM PST - 5 comments

So I finally have to pay for my own car insurance. Any ideas on good places to start looking, tips, things to consider, etc.
In case you need it: my chief concern is price, I will be insuring me, my wife and our two cars and, between the two of us, we have had three accidents in the past five years and zero traffic violations. posted by JPowers at 2:28 AM PST - 14 comments

I'm going to start a cult, and would appreciate any tips and tricks that Mefites can share with me. Was your cult successful? What did or didn't make it so? [more inside]posted by Meatbomb at 12:08 AM PST - 26 comments

July 4

When I joined a gym, I was told that lifting weights every day would cause injury and that muscles needed time to repair and rebuild. But whenever an actor is interviewed about his Hollywood blockbuster, he talks about training for four hours every day. What's the deal? [more inside]posted by cribcage at 11:33 PM PST - 15 comments

Is there anywhere online a writer can find artists searching for a story?Recent Something Positive strips have reminded me that I've got several ideas for webcomics, but I lack some of that 'Artistic Talent' the kids have these days. posted by blueneurosis at 11:05 PM PST - 2 comments

My wife and I recently rented a house in the Phinney Ridge area of Seattle. When renting I saw that all of the outlets were 3 prong outlets and that there was a breaker box and not a fuse box, so I assumed it was all wired correctly. Now that we've moved in, I've found that 6 of the 10 outlets are coming up as "open ground" when using a grounding tester. [more inside]posted by freshgroundpepper at 9:33 PM PST - 13 comments

While we're on the subject of M$ quirks ... why can I type "em-dashes" using ALT+0151 in the copy of Wurd I use at work -- but I cannot do this on my personal copy at home? Which program setting and/or Windows configuration governs this? (Both using XP and Word2000). posted by RavinDave at 9:11 PM PST - 10 comments

I used to think I was good at Excel. I could add, subtract, multiply and even use PivotTables! But I have a big problem with Excel: Why does it jump to cell 65,000 occasionally when you try to copy and paste? [more inside]posted by Happydaz at 6:15 PM PST - 6 comments

Aside from buying the ingredients and making them myself, where would one go to buy chocolate dipped strawberries in Southern California - preferably in the San Fernando Valley? There are countless companies who will ship these to me but I need them for Tuesday evening and with the holiday today that makes shipping, sadly, impossible... posted by MarkBakalor at 2:53 PM PST - 6 comments

I have a new health care provider via a state-sponsored program. They use my social security number as my ID number. What is the most effective way to fight this? [more inside]posted by jessamyn at 2:15 PM PST - 13 comments

Why do US newspaper headlines regularly omit the word "and" and replace it with a comma, such as "Convergence of Driver, Bicyclist Ends in Arrest" taken from a current Front Page Post. UK newspapers do not do this. Is it purely a space saving mechanism, or is there a stylistic thing going on? posted by jontyjago at 1:45 PM PST - 31 comments

Recently purchased a mosquito repellent device from Thermacell and am wondering if anyone else has used a similar device, and how effective they really are. [more inside]posted by gfroese at 11:50 AM PST - 8 comments

I moved to san francisco two months ago and have been bitten by some type of insect about 40 times since then. the favorite spot appears to be my left arm with 17 bites scattered from my hand to my shoulder. i never feel myself being bitten, the bites are very small and they itch unlike anything i've ever experienced. i have not had this reaction to mosquitos before, and usually feel them as they bite me and see them. does anyone have any idea of what could be biting me and any natural remedies for itching and/or insect repellent for the body? posted by centrs at 11:10 AM PST - 19 comments

Thinking about getting rid of land line and going strictly with cell. Don't spend much time on the phone, land or cell. Anyone out there got a good reason not to switch? (internet connection is cable) Any feedback appreciated. posted by lois1950 at 12:47 AM PST - 54 comments

July 3

I've got a ~40G filesystem on a Linux machine. I'm looking for a solution that will let me backup to 4.7G DVD blanks - e.g., fill one disc, tell me to put in another, etc, until all of the data is copied to disc(s). I can do this easily with Dragon Burn under OSX with its "Span discs" option, but I'd like to find something similar for Linux. I know about cdrecord/proDVD, but last time I checked it didn't offer anything like this. Any suggestions? posted by mrbill at 11:29 PM PST - 7 comments

I seem to have accumulated a stock of "extra strength" Tylenol, when often my headaches and other pains really only call for "minimum strength." I don't want to just pop a 500 mg Tylenol whenever I hurt - is it ok to break these in half to get a lower dose? posted by autojack at 5:42 PM PST - 16 comments

On flickr, why isn't there a method or hack to upload pictures WITH TAGS & DESCRIPTIONS from Adobe Elements Photo Album, or any other Windows based album software.
I'm not a programer, but it seems that the web savy community has come up with a solution to a new problem every day, why not this one?
Won't this be a useful solution? posted by Mroz at 3:20 PM PST - 15 comments

We're looking for a cool poster of the periodic table. This and this are considerations, but we'd rather have something more interesting. A poster of one of the early designs would be especially neato. posted by frykitty at 1:54 PM PST - 9 comments

Tour de France. I do not have access to OLN through my cable provider. I want to be able to hear, (in english), live commentary of the Tour. I figured I would be able to find this on the web but have not been able to so far. I would like also find out what resources others are using to follow the grande boucle, any good blogs I should know about? posted by flummox at 1:46 PM PST - 9 comments

How can I keep myself occupied for 31 hours on the greyhound bus? My partner and I are leaving on Thursday for our vacation, but we are travelling to our destination via greyhound, and it is a very long ride. I love to read and listen to music, but I get bored of those. I can sleep on the bus, but not too well, and I am resistant to taking drugs to knock myself out. Any ideas for bus activities for two adult women? posted by arcticwoman at 1:10 PM PST - 15 comments

From the perspective of the waiter/waitress, is it better for me to tip via cash on the table vs. a number written on the credit card transaction? Do they end up getting less when tipped via credit card, due to restaurateur shenanigans or tax reporting or other? Cash often isn't an option because of time constraints (need to make change) or just laziness. posted by intermod at 8:01 AM PST - 36 comments

July 2

Dogs in Space was an Australian film released in 1987 starring Michael Hutchence of INXS before they cracked the states. It's about a band living in a share-house in Melbourne in 1979. The lifestyle, the personalities, can still be found today, 26 years on. What other movies, despite their fictions, serve as documentaries of lifestyles that will probably remain unrecorded? posted by hifimofo at 8:59 PM PST - 13 comments

The dreaded 'TCP/IP is not enabled for this connection. Cannot proceed.'
My wireless card sees the network, but will not actually connect. The web is full of discussions on this problem that end in hopelessness. [more inside]posted by bingo at 6:50 PM PST - 15 comments

How fast do swim towels dry? I'm thinking of buying a swim towel to keep at the gym. They say they dry "in minutes". Would it dry in the 3-10 minutes it takes me to get dressed so I could keep in my my locker without worrying about mold? Or should I just keep paying for towel service? posted by duck at 6:49 PM PST - 10 comments

I recently hit a golf ball through a skylight on a house adjacent to the course. Am I responsible for the bill? I've heard pretty much every answer under the sun, so some specific evidence would be nice. posted by sicem07 at 5:29 PM PST - 36 comments

Can anyone point me to a utility that will copy all the images from my camreas memory card (compact flash) to a directory in the My Pictures folder with the creation date. So all the pictures taken on 7/1 end up in a folder named 7-1-2005. I want it to be ea one-click deal. [more inside]posted by TuxHeDoh at 1:47 PM PST - 11 comments

Aside from longer elevator rides, are they any less obvious drawbacks to living on the 23rd floor of a 23-floor apartment building -- as opposed to, say, the 10th or 15th? [more inside]posted by onshi at 1:03 PM PST - 25 comments

Let's assume that I have an idea for a web site that will draw lots of people. Let's assume that it involves a fair number of images, and so probably high bandwidth. Is it still possible to make money on this kind of thing through banner ads? [more inside]posted by pornucopia at 11:43 AM PST - 6 comments

I am trying to find an article I read back in I think in 1997 or 1998 in a computer magazine (may have been Wired or some Mac magazine). Anyway the article talked about using things around the house to make a computer desk out of. I distinctly remember a picture of an old refrigerator being modded out and and used as a computer desk. My google-fu fails me. It had some pretty innovative ideas in it. Any help is appreciated greatly. posted by Livewire Confusion at 8:51 AM PST - 3 comments

ScaryBugFilter- Can a centipede bite kill a large-breed dog? Earlier tonight as I was putting my old English sheepdog to bed in the garage, I saw a centipede scurrying away across the floor. Max weighs roughly 95 pounds - should I be worried? Any web resources on dangerous insect bites and dogs will be greatly appreciated (i.e. symptoms, what to do if I can't get to a vet right away, etc.) I know, my dog hasn't actually been bitten yet, but I'm the paranoid type and the sight of that bug was enough to freak me out. A big thank you to everyone in advance. posted by invisible ink at 1:06 AM PST - 6 comments

In Fassbinder's movie The Marriage of Maria Braun, what piece of classical music is plays in the beginning of the scene wherein Karl Oswald and Maria are dining, toward the end of the movie? [more inside]posted by ori at 12:45 AM PST - 3 comments

So this idiot "friend" of mine defaulted on his student loans, and the collection agency in charge of, well, collecting them has tacked on about $5000 worth of fees. Now that he's paying them back and rehabilitating his loan, is there any way he can get those fees eliminated? The collections agency says the best they'll do is deduct about $1000 after rehabilitation, but I'm convinced there must be something more he can do. Thanks, as always! posted by anonymous at 12:05 AM PST - 7 comments

When I need a quick fix on the web, I inevitably find myself checking a small handful of feeds in my RSS reader. Mini blogs, link blogs, sidebar blogs -- call them what you will, they all share the same characteristics: plenty of links and not much commentary. Which mini blogs do you read on a regular basis? [more inside]posted by lewistate at 9:30 PM PST - 16 comments

CorporateCrime Filter: I remember a while ago I use to constantly reference a fairly objective "smart shopper" site that would list issues, good and bad with most of the big corporations. [more inside]posted by Lockeownzj00 at 9:08 PM PST - 10 comments

Living near power lines? Searching for a home, my girlfriend and I have found a house we want to make an offer on. It's our dream house in a nice town, but there's an issue... the house sits about 100 yards away from this... a relatively small power distribution/transfer station adjacent to the property. Do we have anything to be concerned about or should I go buy some lead boxer shorts? [more inside]posted by evoo at 9:00 PM PST - 22 comments

Turkish food filter: I believe it was called "muharama" or something close. It was spread on pita and had a lot of garlic and possible walnuts. I've tried many spelling combinations in google and found nothing. What is it and what's the recipe? posted by 445supermag at 8:51 PM PST - 9 comments

Looking for suggestions on surviving long plane rides. I'm talking about transoceanic, 10+ hour flights. Limited Google searching has found this and this. I've also read the prior question, about sleeping. I have a laptop, mp3 player, and lots of ebooks. posted by manilamd at 6:17 PM PST - 30 comments

Home DSL connection. DSL router goes to Netgear router, and three computers connect to the Netgear router. All three computers run XP Pro. On two of the computers, DNS works fine. On the third, some websites don't resolve. Why? [more inside]posted by Lokheed at 4:48 PM PST - 10 comments

I've been asked to lay out a book for a small publisher. Aesthetically, I have a good idea of where I need to go with this. But this is my first foray into book design. What sort of application should I be using? I'd like to learn a bit about LaTex (I'm on a Mac running 10.4.1), as this seems like the most cost effective and professional route. Ultimately, I need to deliver the document in PDF format. Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated! posted by aladfar at 3:43 PM PST - 17 comments

FishFilter: Earlier this week, the last of my original fish died. It was a black skirt tetra, which is a fairly common aquarium fish. I have not, however, been able to find out how long they usually live, either on the Intarweb, Innes book, etc. [more inside]posted by Captain_Tenille at 3:06 PM PST - 2 comments

Twice this week I've lost my bookmarks and homepage on Firefox. Please help me--I'm a babe in the woods and the big hungry Firefox is licking its chops. [more inside]posted by wordswinker at 1:27 PM PST - 12 comments

Is there a piece of software I can use to allow public users to add "connections" between multiple objects/words? I'm thinking of a project that would probably end up looking like the ThinkMap Visual Thesaurus (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/). Any thoughts? [more inside]posted by sneebler at 9:45 AM PST - 3 comments

I recently inherited a pretty decent digital camera, and want to learn how to become a better digital photographer. What would you recommend, resources wise, for learning how to take better photos? [more inside]posted by sperare at 7:26 AM PST - 21 comments

When I had a c/section in 2002, I was given a medication through my IV shortly before surgery that caused a bizarre reaction. I'm possibly going to have surgery again soon and would like to know what this was so I can avoid it. [more inside]posted by hollygoheavy at 7:14 AM PST - 12 comments

What's a good math book? My sister is a high school drop out and pretty much knows how to add, subtract and the like. Last night, she called me concerned that when her kids start school in a few years she won't be able to assist them with their math homework, and asked me to find a good easy-to-understand book that will teach her from very basic math (adding, subtracting) on to more complex mathematics. Any suggestions? posted by missed at 6:21 AM PST - 8 comments

I have been asked to spearhead a pilot program at the community college I go to. It involves building old computers used by the school, warehouse work and selling them on ebay. I am a student and I offered to do volunteer work, when this was offered to me. Problem is, I spoke to cooperative education and they advised me I would have to switch majors to business in order to recieve credit for the hours worked. [more inside]posted by Dean Keaton at 5:36 AM PST - 6 comments

Webcam software for dialup. Is there a reliable program that can, every 15 minutes, open a dialup connection, FTP a pic, and hang up? We're trying to monitor a livestock pen at a rural property where there is no high speed. I have been trying Spycam but it won't go for more than 3 to 10 hours without generating a system error. I'm using a Logitech Quickcam Chat. posted by shannymara at 5:26 AM PST - 3 comments

I'm trying to burn the Knoppix 4.0 DVD ISO on my wife's second-hand Averatec Windows XP laptop. I have tried almost a dozen DVD burning programs without success. Most of them can't see there's a blank DVD in the drive. What's up? [more inside]posted by rwhe at 4:29 AM PST - 10 comments

Can I run an external dvi monitor with the lid closed on a new Powerbook 12"? posted by cmacleod at 12:09 AM PST - 5 comments

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